Proposal for Deregulating in Overtime Work

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) submitted a proposal for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to revise the regulation of working time of employees, which sets limitations of hours for working. Takaichi is supposed to be willing to remove those regulations to raise productivity of companies in Japan to implement her agenda for a strong Japanese economy. Labor unions are basically negative on excessive work beyond workers’ capacity. This is a traditional dispute between conservative parties and progressive ones. 

Article 32 of Labor Standards Act (LSA) provides that an employer must not have workers work more than 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week, excluding break period. The law has another provision to have overtime work. Article 36 allows an employer having workers work for 45 hours a month and 360 hours a year or less. To let the workers have that extended work, the employer needs to conclude a written agreement with labor union. This is called “36 Employee-Employer Agreement.”

 

However, the LSA has a clause for the employer to have workers work “due to an ordinarily unseeable, significant increase in the workload at the workplace.” In this case, overtime work may be extended less than 100 hours a month and 720 hours a year. In this case, the employer needs to have a special agreement with labor union. Since a suicide of female worker for Dentsu ignited major criticism on corporation that effectively coerced overtime work in 2015, the government of Japan has been promoting reform of working style to reduce worktime.

 

The LDP recently moved to change this trend. In the party platform for the Upper House election in 2025, the LDP included a reform for who wants to work more. The policy was aimed at letting the workers try harder, exercising working skill of individuals and fulfilling necessary labor force. It is likely that this policy was backed by lobbying from employers of business sectors.

 

Inauguration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi accelerated this tendency. Takaichi is known as a workaholic prime minister, staying late at night to read documents for her discussion in the Diet or writing script for her speech. “I’m going to discard words called ‘work-life balance’ and work, work, work, work and work,” said Takaichi in her speech of acceptance of the LDP president last October.

 

Although labor standard inspection offices in local community have been recommending each employer to cap employee’s worktime at 45 hours a week, the LDP proposal demands reconsidering that recommendation. The LDP lawmakers regard that the regulation of 36 Employee-Employer Agreement has become chackles for employers.

 

It is not strange that the LDP policy faces opposition from labor unions. National Confederation of Trade Unions requiredthe LDP to withdraw its proposal, arguing that it would encourage long-time labor. The confederation is known as a supporter of Japan Communist Party. This issue seems to be brought to Diet discussion in current session.

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