Legal Settlements, Verdicts, & Rulings. National Labour Law Profile: Japan. Contributed by Liliane Jung. General Legal Framework Japan's constitution founded on democratic principles was promulgated on 3 November 1. May 1. 94. 7. It is considered the supreme law of the nation and the Emperor as well as the legislative, executive and judicialpowers must respect and uphold it (Art. Constitution). According to this constitution, the Emperor has only a sybolic and formal function. The constitution also establishes the separation of powers and the fundamental human rights. The legislative power is vested in the Diet (KOKKAI), which consists of two houses, the House of Councillors (Sangiin) and the House of Representatives (Shugiin). As a general rule, a bill becomes a law merely by passing both houses. If a bill has passed the House of Representatives but is defeated in the House of Councillors, it can become law if passed a second time in the House of Representives with two- thirds of all members present. With 4. 80 representatives, the House of Representatives has also the larger number of members compared to the House of Councillors (2. Surprising Health Benefits of Sex. How would you like a stronger immune system or better sleep? Action between the sheets can help you get all of this and more. Contributed by Liliane Jung. General Legal Framework. Japan's constitution founded on democratic principles was promulgated on 3 November 1946 and came into force 3. ![]() However, both houses are popularly elected. As Japan is divided into prefectures, the membership is largely based on proportional representation from prefectural districts. Only half of the members who belong to the House of Councillor are elected from the nation at large. The members of both houses also have limited terms of office. Members of the House of Councillors are elected to six year terms, and members of the House of Representatives serve four year terms. The House of Representatives may also be dissolved at any time by the government. The executive power is made up of the Cabinet, which is headed by the Prime Minister. It submits bills to the Diet and exercises control over administrative branches. The Prime Minister is designated by the Diet and must, like the majority of the appointed Ministers, be from among the Diet's ranks. The Cabinet's members do not have constitutionally limited terms of office but must resign at the request of the Diet. The Supreme Court (Saiko Saibansho) and a number of inferior courts are vested with the judicial power. All judges are granted complete independence in decision making. The Supreme Court has the rule making power and is considered court of last resort, that determines the constitutionality of any law, order and regulation. It is made up of 1. Cabinet and a Chief Judge. The latter is appointed by the Emperor who must follow the Cabinet's designation. Each of the inferior courts are under the control of the Supreme Court which nominates as well the candidates for the post of judge. Labour Law. Fundamental labour standards are granted in the Constitution. Those are: the right and the obligation to work (Art. Art. 3) andthe freedom of workers' association - the worker's right to organize, to bargain and to act collectively (Art. Concerning individual labour law, it is stipulated that wages, hours, rest and other working conditions be fixed by law (Art. Japanese labour law is established within this constitutional framework. It is elaborated by acts, ordinances, collective agreements and work rules. The Civil Code adopted on 2. April 1. 89. 6 gives a basic definition of employment contracts. Labour laws must additionally meet constitutional demands by setting minimum labour standards. There are three major labour laws, namely: the Labour Standards Law (LSL), the Trade Union Law (TUL) and the Labour Relations Adjustment Law (LRAL). The LSL regulates firstly working conditions and secondly the workplace safety and hygene. The TUL guarantees the worker's right to organize and to bargain collectively, whereas labour management adjustments and means of dispute settlement are specified in the LRAL. The LSL was adopted on 7 April 1. September 1. 99. 8. The TUL was adopted on 1 June 1. November 1. 99. 3. The LRAL was adopted on 2. September 1. 94. 6 and last amended 1. June 1. 98. 8. The acts apply to Japanese employees of the private sector, with the exception of seafarers, and may also include foreign workers possessing a visa with a work permit. Concerning those employees who work in public owned enterprises, only the LSL is applicable. Labour relations of public employees are governed mainly by special provisions according to the relevant category. Labour legislation is often supplemented by ordinances, which are issued by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (prior to 6 January 2. Ministry of Labour) and the appropriate Labour Relations Commission. The latter body consists of representatives coming equally from the workers' and employers' ranks as well as from the general public. Labour legislation also tends to be rather abstract and therefore often needs to be interpreted by ordinary courts, since there are no special labour courts in Japan, and by the Labour Relations Commission. The second strongest legal norm is the collective agreement, which, in practice, part is, for the most, enterprise based, because it is mainly the enterprise trade union and the respective employer who draw up agreements. Collective agreements affect primarily those workers of the firm who are trade union members. According to custom, they tend to be put in writing only as far as is legally required. Further provisions of the agreement, which must of course be in line with the law, are often simply agreed to verbally. The written part of the agreements might therefore be simple or vague. This fact gives more importance to work rules, which stipulate common working conditions at the enterprise level. Any employer with more than 1. Work rules must not infringe upon the applying collective agreement. Then, they fix the elements of the labour contracts within the company, independently of whether the individual worker is trade union member or not. According to the amended Art. LSL and its Enforcement Ordinance, contractual matters like wages, working hours and working conditions must be put in writing, when the labour contract is concluded. In practice, vague contract provisions are nevertheless preferred by the parties so as to have the contract always in line with the work rules and the collective agreement. The texts (in English) of the Labour Standards Law (including amendments until 1. Trade Union Law and Labour Relations Adjustment Law are available from NATLEX, the database of national labour, social security and related human rights legislation maintained by the ILO's International Labour Standards Department. Contract of employment. Permanent and fixed term contracts of employment. Japanese employment practice is traditionally founded on lifetime employment. The employee usually remains with one company for his/her entire working life. The employment period is thus not stipulated and the post is assured until mandatory retirement age, which is usually somewhere between 5. Such a regular employee normally does not have special skills when he/she enters but tends to be trained within the company by being rotated between different jobs and departments. However, this tradition does not meet the needs of all employers and employees. In the year 2. 00. Source: Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunication; Report on the Special Survey of the Labour Force Survey). Specially skilled workers are often additionally needed or small and medium sized enterprises may, for economic reasons, not entirely ensure lifetime employment. Elderly employees often have the necessity to work after their retirement age, because firstly they are not entitled to receive pension before reaching a certain age and secondly the amount of the pension is often not enough to live on. Other workers also may prefer not to stay with one company. Fixed term contracts are therefore permitted under the restriction of Art. LSL. No objective reason for the limitation is necessary, but the legal period of validity must not be extended. In general, labour contracts of a fixed term must not be longer than one year. In some exceptional cases, the maximum period is three years. Such cases are labour contracts with highly skilled or experienced workers who are necessary for either the development of new products or temporary need of the business. The employment of workers who are at least 6. Equal treatment of fixed term and permanent contractors is not legally mandated. Nevertheless, Art. LSL provides for a determination of working conditions by workers and employers on an equal basis. De facto, such determination is strongly influenced by trade unions through collective agreements and work rules, but most of the fixed term contractors are not trade union members and therefore not necessarily covered. Thus, also the unlawful prolongation of the fixed term contract by repeated renewals does not establish an indefinite- term contract as of a regular employee. Probation. Any labour contract may specify a probation period at the beginning of the employment contract. The probation time is not legally limited. Its renewal is also not prohibited by law. A protection against dismissal is nevertheless assured. After the first 1. Art. 2. 1 of the LSL). According to court rulings, the employer's freedom to dismiss is also only merely extended during the probation time. Special contracts of employment. Temporary work (dispatched work) is governed by the Worker Dispatching Law (WDL) adopted 5 July 1. June 1. 99. 9. In this employment situation, the worker has an employment contract with a worker dispatching agency but works under the direction of a client company which has concluded a dispatching contract with the dispatching agency. The agency may hire the dispatch worker on a permanent basis. However, most workers are only registered at the agency and then employed for a period according to the request of a client company. This latter type of business requires permission from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Dispatched work is prohibited mainly in port transport, construction and guard services (Art.
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