Japan Press Weekly

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2019 March 6 - 12 [LABOR]

Hitachi and its group companies instructed to abide by rules pertaining to foreign trainee program

Hitachi-related business establishments received recommendations and instructions from the relevant authority establishing that they had used foreign trainees in violation of the law, Akahata learned on March 5.

They include Hitachi’s Omika Works (Ibaraki Pref.) and 11 factories and plants of the Hitachi group companies across Japan.

They were investigated between April and September last year by the Organization for Technical Intern Training (OTIT) which is authorized by the state to operate the Technical Intern Training Program. Following the investigation, the 12 Hitachi-related business entities were recommended or instructed to review their illegal labor practices, such as job assignments which have nothing to do with promised training programs and the payment of wages below the mandatory minimum wage rate.

Hitachi, whose chairman Nakanishi Hiroaki serves as Chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren), has announced that it reported to the OTIT on its efforts to correct the situation. However, if Hitachi’s efforts is found to be insufficient, it will face further punishment including the revocation of the approval for foreigner training programs at its factories.

Regarding the issue of the abuse of the foreign trainee program by Hitachi, in July 2018, the Justice Ministry and OTIT conducted inspections at Hitachi’s Kasato factory in Yamaguchi Prefecture. The results of the inspections indicated that the factory had 99 trainees from the Philippines engage in jobs without receiving the promised training. As a result, the factory lost its training qualifications and the 99 Philippine trainees were dismissed.

Past related article:
> Hitachi unfairly dismisses foreign trainees [February 16, 2019]