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Police targeting ex-Nova president
Police are investigating the former president of the now-bankrupt language school chain Nova Corp. for possible breach of trust over a project that brought profits to an affiliate he controlled, sources said. Nozomu Sahashi, 56, is suspected of having paid exorbitant prices for a server used in video-phone hookups for language lessons, sources said. Police…
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Employees win suit against Tochigi farms for unpaid wages, unfair dismissals
A group of strawberry farmers will have to pay a combined 30 million yen in unpaid and overtime wages, and reinstate five Chinese trainees [members of Tokyo Nambu allies Zentoitsu Workers Union] who were unfairly dismissed after losing a class action suit brought against them by their employees. The farmers have also acknowledged that they…
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Teachers win lost pay over ‘Kimigayo’
The Tokyo District Court on Thursday ordered the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to pay ¥27.5 million in lost wages to 13 former high school teachers who were denied postretirement re-employment because they refused to sing the national anthem. The teachers had been reprimanded between November 2003 and March 2005 for disobeying a metropolitan directive issued in…
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Japan to Extend Visa Limit to Five Years From Three, NHK Says
Japan plans to extend long-term visa permits to five years from the current three when it changes the registration system for foreigners living in Japan, public broadcaster NHK reported. The Justice Ministry also plans to simplify the re-entry process for returning foreign residents, NHK reported on its English-language Web site, without saying where it obtained…
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McDonald’s told to pay overtime to manager
McDonald’s Co. (Japan) on Monday was ordered to pay 7.5 million yen to a branch manager who had often worked more than 100 hours of overtime a month without being paid. In a landmark ruling, the Tokyo District Court agreed with the argument of Hiroshi Takano, 46, that the fast-food giant’s policy of making outlet…
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McDonald’s ‘manager’ wants ‘human’ life
[McDonald’s manager Hiroshi Takano] became especially busy after being transferred to an outlet in Higashi-Matsuyama in July 2004. He had no permanent staff working under him, and was in sole charge of operations there. A worker he trusted moved to a different outlet in December that year, leaving Takano to take on a number of…
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McDonald’s ordered to pay overtime to outlet manager
The Tokyo District Court on Monday ordered McDonald’s Co. (Japan) Ltd. to pay more than 7.5 million yen in unpaid overtime wages to the manager of an outlet in Saitama Prefecture, saying the man is not considered to actually be in a managerial position. Presiding Judge Iwao Saito said McDonald’s outlet managers’ discretion is limited…
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Japanese fluency could ease visa conditions
SKILLED FOREIGN WORKERS TARGETED Conditions for resident visa status of skilled foreign workers such as engineers may be relaxed if they attain a certain level of proficiency in Japanese, government sources said Monday. The measures, including shortening the required number of years of work experience required, are being considered both to increase the variety of…
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McDonald’s told to pay overtime to manager
The Tokyo District Court ordered McDonald’s Holdings Co. (Japan) Ltd. Monday to pay ?7.55 million in overtime allowance and “additional pay” to a manager at one of its outlets.? Presiding Judge Iwao Saito ruled that Hiroshi Takano, 46, who manages a McDonald’s outlet in Saitama Prefecture, does not qualify as a manager under the Labor…
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Wage row erupts between strawberry farms, sacked Chinese apprentices
A dispute has erupted between a group of Chinese apprentices and strawberry farms in Japan after one farm sacked a group of students and tried to force them to leave the country.A total of 15 apprentices have fled from the farm operators and are demanding a total of about 52.25 million yen in unpaid wages…