Japan Press Weekly

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2013 December 25 - 2014 January 7 [LABOR]

Japan’s major companies impose on workers more than 80 hours of overtime every month

Japan’s major corporations are pressing their workers to work more than 80 hours of overtime on a monthly basis, Akahata reported based on their labor-management agreements on overtime work.

The Japanese Labor Standards Law bans employers from having employees work more than eight hours a day, 40 hours a week. However, Article 36 of the law allows corporations to require their workers to work longer than the legal limit on the condition that labor and management make an agreement (the so-called “36 agreement”).

The 36 agreement of Sumitomo Chemical Co., whose chairman Yonekura Hiromasa heads the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren), permits the company to urge its employees to work an extra 100 hours a month, up to 1,200 hours a year. The agreement of Toshiba, whose vice chairman is also a Keidanren vice chairman, approves 100 hours of overtime work per month, up to 1,000 hours per year.

Including these two companies, 70% of 39 companies from which Akahata obtained documents related to working hours have the labor-management agreement which accepts monthly overtime hours exceeding 80 hours.

The Labor Ministry sets the limit for overtime work at 80 hours a month. On the other hand, the Abe Cabinet is aiming to introduce a “white-color exemption” system which exempts corporations from paying for overtime.


Major companies whose overtime work hours exceed 80 hours per month based on the accord
Sumitomo Chemical 100h/m 1200h/y
Toshiba 130h/m 1000h/y
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East 150h/m 1000h/y
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 80h/m 960h/y
Toyota Motor 80h/m 720h/y