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Standing up to the country’s flagship carrier
Credibility of justice system in spotlight as highest court to make ruling on JAL layoffs BY HIFUMI OKUNUKI Kuala Lumpur, 1977. The rain came down in torrents. The control tower instructed pilots to circle the airport pending better weather. The pilots had the option to divert to a nearby airport where things were quieter. Japan Airlines…
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Would-be NTV announcer’s fate hangs on issues of morality and fraud
BY HIFUMI OKUNUKI NOV 26, 2014 The prevalence of the employment custom of saiyō naitei (tentative job offers) may well be peculiar to Japan. As I touched upon in my March 27, 2012, column, university juniors and seniors skip class to attend work seminars, company orientations, internships and, finally, a series of tests and interviews…
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Tozen Continues to Grow
Founded in April 2010 with 7 locals, Tozen Union has recently reached 15 active local unions (plus two dormant ones). Our membership has also roughly doubled during the past four years, with growth accelerating over the past 15 months.
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AKB48 members deserve to get workers’ comp for saw attack
On May 25, a man wielding a saw attacked and wounded 19-year-old Rina Kawaei and 18-year-old Anna Iriyama, two members of bumper girl group AKB48, and a male staffer at an event where fans get to shake hands with their AKB idols. Fortunately the injuries were minor, but fans were shocked. The victims and their…
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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…
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ANA caricature speaks volumes about Japan’s outdated mind-set
By Hifumi Okunuki Last month, a new ANA commercial hit the airwaves — and quickly ran into some serious turbulence. The scene is Haneda Airport. Two Japanese men dressed as pilots stand with their backs to the camera. “Haneda has more international flights nowadays,” says one. “Finally,” replies the other. “Next stop, Vancouver,” the first man says.…
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Restore the shuttered-up New Year’s of yore
BY HIFUMI OKUNUKI First of all, I would like to wish a happy new year to all the readers of Labor Pains. While labor news has generally been a gloomy topic of late, it is my hope that this year will bring brighter things for me to write about. As I draft this first column…
