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Real GDP up an annualized 4.6%
Japan’s real gross domestic product surged an annualized [a somewhat ironic] 4.6 percent during the October-December period to keep the domestic economy ahead of China, according to Cabinet Office figures Monday. http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201002150379.html
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Foreign trainees easily exploited as bosses take advantage of system
The controversy should have heated up after last month’s ruling by the Kumamoto District Court, which found in favor of four female Chinese trainees who sued their employer and the agent that arranged for that employment. The trainees were awarded unpaid wages amounting to ¥12.8 million as well as damages to the tune of ¥4.4…
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Survey: 14 prefectures against foreign suffrage
Fourteen of the nation’s 47 prefectural assemblies oppose or have called for prudence in granting permanent foreign residents the right to vote in local elections, a recent survey by the National Association of Chairpersons of Prefectural Assemblies has found. Of the 14, eight including Chiba and Ishikawa had previously voted in favor of enfranchising non-Japanese…
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14 Prefectures Oppose Allowing Foreigners to Vote in Local Elections
Local assemblies in 14 of Japan’s 47 prefectures have adopted statements in opposition to giving permanent foreign residents in Japan the right to vote in local elections since the Democratic Party of Japan took power last year, a Kyodo News tally showed Monday. Before the launch last September of the new government under Prime Minister…
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Temps again get short end?
Labor bill loopholes may let manufacturers still have ‘disposable’ ranks The Hatoyama administration is working on an amendment to the job dispatch law in an effort to provide greater security to temporary workers hit by the economic slump. But observers worry that the Democratic Party of Japan-led ruling coalition is backing away from a campaign…
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College collapse angers overseas students
Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology deputy chief executive Elaine Bensted said the State Government’s priority was the students and ensuring they could continue their study in Adelaide. Meanwhile, a former director of GEOS Adelaide said the company acted as cash cow for the Japanese parent company. Gary Maserow, who resigned in October,…
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Unions seek standard pay hikes
Key corporate labor unions filed their wage demands for the year with management Friday, kicking off the year’s “shunto” spring wage negotiations. Their demands focus on maintaining regular pay hikes amid the country’s economic conditions and tough employment situation. Under a regular wage hike system, workers have so far been granted an automatic pay increase…
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Japan Wages Slump at Near-Record Pace of 6.1% as Bonuses Slide
Japan’s wages slumped at a near- record pace in December as employers pared workers’ bonuses, an indication that consumer spending is unlikely to drive the economic recovery. Monthly wages including overtime and bonuses slipped 6.1 percent from a year earlier to 549,259 yen ($5,056), the Labor Ministry said today in Tokyo. Paychecks slumped an unprecedented…
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Uncertainty over language schools’ fate
The fate of up to 400 language students hangs in the balance with reports that their schools’ parent company has closed its Australian schools. This week, eight Australian schools owned by GEOS in Japan closed but the fate of the company’s schools in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch remained uncertain, GEOS Auckland manager Stuart Binnie said.…
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New visa rule on insurance to be deleted
Aim is to ease foreigners’ concerns The Immigration Bureau is planning to change a new guideline for foreign residents to ease concerns that those without social insurance will be forced to choose between losing their visa and entering the insurance system, a bureau official said Monday. But some foreigners warn the move won’t be enough…