-
·
Foreign workers fear exploitation as Olympic projects gather steam
My first Labor Pains column of the new fiscal year will look at the government’s recent proposal for bringing in foreign workers. Various proposals on easing immigration restrictions for foreign workers have been bandied about in recent years, but they were inevitably scrapped because “Japan is but a tiny island nation.” (In fact, Japan is…
-
·
Japan moves to expand controversial foreign worker scheme
(Reuters) – Japan is considering expanding a controversial program that now offers workers from China and elsewhere permits to work for up to three years, as the world’s fastest-aging nation scrambles to plug gaps in a rapidly shrinking workforce. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party on Tuesday submitted a proposal to let workers to…
-
·
Holding on to resignation letters may be common but it’s neither right nor valid
New NHK President Katsuto Momii made headlines around the world with his claim that “comfort women” have been a common feature of conflicts involving “every country.” Using sex slaves in wartime, he said, was only wrong according to “today’s morality.” Causing great concern to press-freedom advocates, he also insisted that “when the government says ‘right,’…
-
·
Tozen Report: All Day Dispute Action Against GABA
Last Friday, Tozen GABA Workers Union took its first all day action against GABA’s threat to fire Tozen GABA Workers Union President Tyler Christensen. We began at 6AM to leaflet GABA Shinagawa Learning Studio. We moved on to Gaba corporate HQ at 9AM. There as we handed out leaflets, GABA representative Satomi Odaka emerged from the building. The union…
-
-
·
Chomsky Tells Tozen that Systems of Power Don’t Say Thank Youノーム・チョムスキーから東ゼンへ：「権力者は、反対する者にはお礼を言わない」
) Tozen Activists Chat with Activist Noam Chomsky ノーム・チョムスキーは来日中、東ゼン労組の活動家と話し合いを Leaders and members of Zenkoku Ippan Tokyo General Union (“Tozen Union”) met Saturday afternoon (March 8, 2014) with Professor Noam Chomsky at Café Lavandería in Shinjuku, Tokyo, at an event hosted by Tokyo Spring. ２０１４年３月８日、東京スプリングと東ゼン労組によって新宿２丁目のカフェラバンデリアで開催されたイベントに来た。東ゼン労組の活動家が世界的に有名な言語学者又は反体制派のノーム・チョムスキーと話し合うことができた。 The activist and linguist expressed great interest in the activities of both Tozen…
-
·
US State Department Lauds Tozen for Pension Activism
“A Pension Agency enforcement directive continues to make it explicitly easier for employers to avoid paying pension and insurance contributions on behalf of their foreign employees who teach languages as compared with Japanese employees in similar positions. It also does not establish penalties for employers who illegally fail to enroll foreign teachers in the system.…
