Japan’s lower house on Thursday approved controversial labor reforms that the government has defended as necessary to boost the economy but critics warn could result in more death by overwork. The legislation would scrap hourly overtime pay for some employees while setting overtime caps for others for the first
Japan’s lower house on Thursday approved controversial labor reforms that the government has defended as necessary to boost the economy but critics warn could result in more death by overwork.
The legislation would scrap hourly overtime pay for some employees while setting overtime caps for others for the first time.
The government says the measures will boost efficiency and equality, and they form a key plank of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s “Abenomics” policy to kickstart the country’s sluggish economy. But critics argue that loosening hourly overtime pay will only encourage overwork in a country that is infamous for the phenomenon of karoshi, or death by overwork, and some opposition members booed loudly as the bill was approved.
The legislation must still pass the upper house, though local media said approval there was likely.
The reform’s key feature is letting Japan’s corporate sector hire select, highly paid professionals, such as currency traders and consultants, on contracts which include no overtime pay.
