August 21, 2026

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare on August 19 announced a change to its uniform guidelines urging companies to cap monthly overtime at 45 hours or less. This move appears to be in response to demands from the business community.

National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren) officer Doi Naoki, who is in charge of welfare and labor issues, said that the Labor Ministry’s policy shift is totally unacceptable as it abandons the eight-hour workday principle and its primary role of protecting workers and improving working conditions.

The Labor Standards Act sets the maximum-working hours at eight hours a day, 40 hours a week, in principle. However, if a labor-management agreement on overtime known as the Article 36 agreement is concluded, overtime of up to 45 hours per month and 360 hours per year will be allowed. Furthermore, if the Article 36 agreement includes a special clause, the monthly limit and the yearly limit will be extended to less than 100 hours (including work on holidays) and up to 720 hours, respectively.

Currently, Labor Standards Inspection Offices are uniformly instructing workplaces to keep monthly overtime under 45 hours in order to prevent an increase in the risk of health problems linked to excessively long working hours.

Under the revised policy set to take effect in September, the existing blanket approach will not be applied and instead guidance will be provided depending on each workplace’s actual situation based on their Article 36 agreement. In addition, a consultation counter supporting the conclusion of an Article 36 agreement will be established at Work Style Reform Promotion Support Centers nationwide. This indicates that the ministry aims to spread methods among companies that allow for extended working hours.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party in April, in response to the business circle’s claim that inspection offices’ guidance stifles business activities, proposed a revision on the Labor Ministry’s labor inspection policy. The Cabinet led by Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae in its growth strategy and big-boned fiscal policy, which were approved in July, stated that it would “promptly review the ministry’s policy to ensure that guidance is provided in accordance with labor-management agreements.”