51³Ô¹ÏÍø

Tag - nonregular-workers

 
Menu
Search
 
July 24, 2026
 

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

NONREGULAR WORKERS

A man in his 60s (left), one of the plaintiffs who have filed a lawsuit against Timee over last-minute cancellation of contracts, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Tuesday.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Crime & Legal
Apr 22, 2026
Users of ¡®spot work¡¯ app sue service over last-minute cancellations
Despite employers having accepted their applications, the nine users had their contracts canceled right before the day of work a total of 135 times.
Under the program to support the so-called employment ice age generation, information on job changes that would lead to wage increases will be provided at Hello Work public job placement offices nationwide.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Apr 10, 2026
Government adopts support program for ¡®Ice Age¡¯ generation
The term refers to people who had trouble finding jobs after graduating from school in the wake of the collapse of Japan¡¯s bubble economy in the early 1990s.
Iwao Tanaka (right) speaks to a snowboarder getting off a ski lift at a resort in Daisen, Tottori Prefecture.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Mar 30, 2026
For some retirees, life is a little bit like a holiday
More and more older people are taking up short-term resort jobs as they embark on their ¡°second life¡± post-retirement.
Hinako Mori, 22, arranges products at a Don Quijote outlet in Tokyo in October. The Japanese retailer, which relaxed its rules concerning hair and nail polish three years ago, says nearly a quarter of its employees sport brightly colored hair.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 17, 2025
More Japanese firms relax rules in tussle for workers
The country¡¯s labor shortage has led companies to ease up on various aspects, such as hair and nail polish color, to secure enough part-timers.
According to the latest survey conducted by the labor ministry, Japanese companies' employment rate of workers with disabilities was 2.4%.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 12, 2025
Japan firms facing challenge of employing more workers with disabilities
According to the latest survey conducted by the labor ministry, Japanese companies¡¯ employment rate of disabled people was 2.4%.
Miho Koshiba started her career in finance before she founded the Mirai Institute, a think tank that operates the Midori.so coworking space with an ever-growing cosmopolitan community across seven locations in Tokyo.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jun 28, 2025
Miho Koshiba: ¡®Wouldn¡¯t it be nice if people looked forward to Mondays?¡¯
The cofounder of the Midori.so coworking space shares her inspirations and aspirations for career and community.
Parliament passed a revised pension reform bill aimed at strengthening basic pension benefits.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Politics
Jun 13, 2025
Parliament enacts revised pension reform bill
The legislation passed the House of Councilors by a majority vote.
The basic framework adopted by the government calls for measures to improve the employment situation of those in their 40s and 50s, and for steps to assist them in their later years.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Politics
Jun 3, 2025
Japan government to boost support for job ¡®Ice Age¡¯ generation
The framework calls for measures to improve the employment situation of those in their 40s and 50s, and for steps to assist them in their later years.
A former nonregular government employee, who cooked lunch for a public school in the Tohoku region, says she was dismissed after she was made to take an open recruitment exam.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society / Regional Voices: Tohoku
May 19, 2025
Civil service contract workers fear lack of job security
Contracted civil servants are paid about half the salaries of regular staff or even less, and a fear of being dismissed hangs over their heads.
Those who entered the job market from around 1993 to 2004, when long-term stagnation started, are likely to struggle even more to make ends meet after retirement.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society / FOCUS
May 7, 2025
Japan¡¯s ¡®ice age¡¯ employment generation is at risk of poverty during retirement
Due to low wages?the generation tends to earn and protracted pension adjustments, many may end up relying on welfare benefits.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a discussion on the employment ice age generation in Tokyo on Friday.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 25, 2025
¡®Employment ice age generation¡¯ returns to spotlight ahead of Upper House election
The generation, which graduated between 1993 and 2004, has long grappled with pay stagnation and irregular employment due to a tight labor market.
Osamu Murata (left), the acting chairman of nonprofit Ashinaga, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Wednesday. Ashinaga, which provides financial aid to children, conducted a survey among parents and guardians of recipients to determine the challenges they face.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
Mar 27, 2025
Japan¡¯s single parents struggle to raise children, survey finds
Such households grapple with economic hardship, ¡°time poverty¡± and social isolation, according to a nonprofit that provides financial aid to children.
In the survey, 36.7% of respondents said that they have not taken measures to prevent customer harassment.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Jan 23, 2025
Customer harassment pushes part-timers to quit
The proportion of companies whose part-time workers faced customer harassment, such as yelling, within the past year was 45.7%.
Currently, companies with 51 or more employees must have their part-time workers join the kosei nenkin program. The government plans to lower that threshold to 21 employees in October 2027 and scrap it two years later.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Jan 21, 2025
Japan to have more part-timers join employee pension program
The government plans to lower the corporate size threshold for part-timers joining the pension program from 51 or more employees to 21 in October 2027.
The government's pension reform plan under consideration will make it easier for part-timers to join the kosei nenkin employee pension program.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
Dec 8, 2024
Japan to scrap ?1.06 million employee pension threshold in 2026
The government also plans to abolish a requirement that companies must have at least 51 employees for employees to join the kosei nenkin program.
Beyond factors such as the "motherhood penalty," Japanese women struggle to advance in their careers due to the structure of the workforce, including the two-tiered clerical versus managerial track.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 6, 2024
Why is it taking so long to break the glass ceiling?
Japan isn¡¯t unique in having a thick glass ceiling, but some factors don¡¯t apply to other countries, like the U.S., where many more managers are women.
Spot workers who choose when and where to work through dedicated apps during their free time are seen as a new pool of human resources in industry sectors that have faced labor shortages.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 4, 2023
Number of ¡®spot workers¡¯ surges in Japan amid labor shortage
The work style has gained popularity due to the flexibility it offers: individuals can choose when and where to work through dedicated apps.
University students attend a job fair. If Japanese companies continue hiring people based on the university they graduated from, acquiring extra qualifications or reskilling won't impact candidates' job prospects.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 29, 2023
Kishida¡¯s stimulus package needs rethinking, not reskilling
The government aims to promote reskilling for nonregular workers to boost their job prospects, but this won¡¯t matter if hiring practices don¡¯t change.
"The Ones Left Behind" documents the successes and struggles of single mothers in Japan.
PODCAST / deep dive
Nov 2, 2023
Why single mothers in Japan have been left behind
Filmmaker Rionne McAvoy joins us to discuss the hidden poverty present in one of the world¡¯s richest nations.
The new invoice system, which goes into effect Oct. 1, is forcing many freelancers in Japan to choose between raising their prices or suffer a 10% loss in revenue.
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Sep 25, 2023
Freelancers aren¡¯t happy with Japan¡¯s new invoice system
For many freelancers and small businesses, the result will amount to a 10% increase in taxes.
Japan scientists identify clusters of protein believed to trigger Alzheimer¡¯s disease
A team of researchers said they found a ¡°seed¡± that accelerates the amyloid beta accumulation process in the brain, naming it ¡°Peak 1 amyloid beta,¡± as seen in a mouse's brain.
Indian brothers make manga debut in Japan
Two Indian brothers made their manga debut in Japan with "Kung Fu Kung Fool" ¡ª an action-comedy series that follows the adventures of a notorious thief and a young boy.
Low-income families in Japan cut food and air conditioning during summer break
Yumiko Watanabe, the chairperson of nonprofit Kidsdoor, explains the results of a survey in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on July 1.
Iran strikes on CIA facilities prompt questions about possible Russian role
Iranian drones are displayed in an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on Jan. 13, 2025.U.S. officials have acknowledged that Russia has ?provided targeting ?and other support for Iran in its drone strikes on U.S. targets in the Persian Gulf region.
Intervention is the word after yen moves beyond ?163 and sits there
The government could prop up the yen at any moment, though its signaling is hard to read.
Can Japanese comedy get laughs in English? Yoshimoto Kogyo lets the jokes rip
Wes-P has millions of followers and his viral clips made him recognizable out of Japan.
The 180-day locals: Life on Japan¡¯s digital nomad visa
Christopher Flinn works remotely from Tokyo earlier this month. Japan issued 646 digital nomad visas in 2025, but tourism officials are hoping to increase that figure in the coming years, with Japan's relatively cheap cost of living and the weak yen seen as potential draws for young professionals.
Japan reveals hint of new defense spending target in fiscal blueprint
The Self-Defense Forces' Type 16 mobile combat vehicle fires during a joint live-fire drill with U.S. Marines as part of the annual Resolute Dragon exercises in Yufu, Oita Prefecture, on June 28.
Summer has arrived in Japan and so have hot sleepless nights
Amid the heat and humidity in Japan, a good night¡¯s sleep is growing increasingly elusive without the heavy use of air conditioning.
Maya Ongaku¡¯s DIY dream is getting bigger
The members of Maya Ongaku ¡ª (from left) Tsutomu Sonoda, Shoei Ikeda and Ryota Takano ¡ª grew up on the Shonan Coast south of Tokyo and have been friends since their school days.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan¡¯s landscape that they often go unnoticed.
Why Japan¡¯s utility poles won¡¯t be disappearing anytime soon
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE 51³Ô¹ÏÍø

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER