COLUMN
Column
Useful information on social insurance, subsidies, and labor management.
Delivered in an easy-to-understand manner from the perspective of a labor consultant.
What is the self-directed management of chemical substances — SDS, risk assessment, and appointing a manager
Self-directed chemical management combines SDSs, risk assessment, manager appointments, and exposure prevention. It explains mandatory SDS updates, the continuing role of specific regulations, and the April and October 2026 amendments, including exceptions and matters requiring professional confirmation.
What changed in Japan’s disability employment exclusion rates in April 2025? Industries and calculation checks
Industry exclusion rates fell by ten percentage points in April 2025. The private-sector employment rate has been 2.7% since July 2026. Check each establishment’s industry, deduction and rounding before recalculating the required number.
How can an SME set up retirement benefits? Comparing Chutaikyo, iDeCo+, and corporate DC
Compare who pays contributions and what happens when an employee leaves under Chutaikyo, iDeCo+, and corporate DC. Check contribution months, the precise iDeCo+ headcount test, plan refunds, work rules, and the professionals responsible.
Dormitories, shuttle transport, and commuting-accident workers' compensation for foreign workers (points to check for technical interns and specified skilled workers)
An injury on the way from a company-provided dormitory to the site can be covered by workers' compensation as a commuting accident, if the dormitory is the worker's base of life (residence) and the travel is by a reasonable route and method (Article 7, paragraph 2, item 1 of the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act). However, commuting does not include travel "of a work-related nature" (the paragraph's main clause). An accident during travel in dedicated shuttle transport controlled and managed by the company can become an occupational-accident issue as travel of a work-related nature. When the dormitory and the workplace are on the same premises, where "commuting" begins changes. In all cases the final finding is made by the Labor Standards Inspection Office. The compensation procedure and native-language explanation are for a Shakai Hoken Roumushi; residence-status application agency is for a Gyoseishoshi; the dormitory lease is for a real estate company; a dispute over damages is for an attorney — each a separate business entity, contracted separately.
Overtime upper-limit regulation in construction (the 36 Agreement and holiday practice after the 2024 application)
From 1 April 2024, the penalty-backed overtime upper-limit regulation applies to construction as it does to other businesses. The principle is 45 hours a month and 360 hours a year (Article 36, paragraph 4 of the Labor Standards Act); even with a special-clause agreement the yearly cap is 720 hours, and the 45-hour monthly limit may be exceeded in only 6 months a year (paragraph 5). On top of this, combined overtime and holiday work must be under 100 hours in a single month and 80 hours or less on a multi-month average (paragraph 6, items 2 and 3). Only for "recovery and reconstruction businesses in times of disaster" do those 100-hour and 80-hour parts not apply for the time being (Article 139, paragraph 1). The special-clause 36 Agreement, working-hour management, and work rules are for a Shakai Hoken Roumushi; construction business permits and the business-condition review are for a Gyoseishoshi; tax handling of premium wages is for a tax accountant — each a separate business entity, contracted separately.
Remote employment of overseas residents in China or Taiwan: what to check about labor and social insurance
Living abroad alone does not determine Japanese labor or social insurance coverage. Check the business affiliation, direction and employment relationship for each system, and consult separate professionals on local law and international tax.
What the worksite must do under the mandatory workplace heatstroke measures (effective June 2025)
Since June 1, 2025, specified work in hot conditions requires a communicated heatstroke reporting system and response procedures. This article explains WBGT checks, duties at sites with several businesses, work rules, and the roles of medical and other specialists.
Opening or running a petrol station: what to watch in labour and hazardous-materials staffing
A petrol station's labour centres on late-night premiums (Labour Standards Act Article 37) and variable working-hours systems (Articles 32-2 and 32-4), with the placement of a licensed hazardous-materials handler and the self-service monitoring regime built into the staffing plan. Qualifications and facility permits belong to the fire department and a Gyoseishoshi; the labour side is a Shakai Hoken Roumushi's area, contracted separately as independent entities.
Hiring Specified Skilled Worker foreign staff in agriculture: how are working hours and labour handled?
Agriculture is exempt from the working-hours, break and holiday rules under Labour Standards Act Article 41(i), but the late-night premium (Article 37), annual paid leave (Article 39) and the minimum wage still apply. The labour rules are the same when you hire foreign staff; the residence-status procedure is a Gyoseishoshi's area, engaged separately as an independent entity.
Employee periodic health checks: how far does the duty go, and who pays for the cost and the time?
A periodic health check is the employer's duty, done once within each year for regularly employed workers (Industrial Safety and Health Regulations Article 44). The cost is in principle borne by the employer; pay for the time is by labour-management discussion for general checks and treated as working time for special checks. The medical side belongs to an industrial physician, and tax to a tax accountant, engaged separately as independent entities.
What labour risks should you surface before a business succession or M&A? Checking unpaid overtime, social-insurance gaps and disguised contracting
The labour risks to look at before a succession or M&A are unpaid overtime, social-insurance gaps and disguised contracting, which readily become off-book liabilities and rebound on the buyer or successor after the deal. Unpaid overtime is viewed on the premise that up to three years can be claimed back (Labour Standards Act Article 115 and supplementary provisions). Social-insurance gaps can trigger up to two years of retroactive premiums (Health Insurance Act, Employees' Pension Insurance Act). Disguised contracting carries risks such as the deemed offer of a labour contract (Worker Dispatch Act Article 40-6). Surfacing these before the deal is labour due diligence. Share-transfer contracts, representations and warranties, and disputes are an attorney's area, tax DD and succession tax a tax accountant's, and registration a judicial scrivener's — each contracted separately as an independent business entity.
How do you build the labour arrangements for teachers at a Japanese-language school? Variable working hours, headcount conversion and social insurance
Teachers at a Japanese-language school involve the busy-and-slack swing between term and long vacation, the split between full-time and part-time, and foreign teachers' residence status, so you design variable working hours, the judgement on social insurance, and the notice of working conditions together. Scheduled hours concentrated in term time can be arranged with a yearly variable working-hours system (Labour Standards Act Article 32-4). Even a part-time lecturer becomes insured if they meet the three-quarters rule or the expanded-coverage requirements. The accreditation application for a certified Japanese-language education institution and foreign teachers' residence status are the area of a Gyoseishoshi, and tax that of a tax accountant, each contracted separately as an independent business entity.
Is a security guard's nap time working time? How do you design labour for intermittent duty?
A security guard's nap time is working time, even while asleep, if staying in the nap room and responding to alarms and calls is required and release from work is not guaranteed (the general view from the Oboshi Building Management case, Supreme Court First Petty Bench, 28 February 2002). Standby time during traffic control is also working time when under the employer's direction. To remove the working-hours, break and holiday rules as monitoring or intermittent duty requires permission from the head of the Labour Standards Inspection Office (Labour Standards Act Article 41(iii)), and even with permission the late-night premium (Article 37(4)) is not waived. The security-business authorisation belongs to a Gyoseishoshi, each contracted separately as an independent business entity.
To bring in a selective four-day workweek, how do you align work rules, wages and social insurance?
A selective four-day workweek lets employees who wish choose a three-day weekend, and the extra day off means reworking work rules, wages and social insurance at the same time. In the type that keeps total working hours, a day's scheduled hours exceed eight, so you design it with a variable working-hours system (Labour Standards Act Articles 32-2 and 32-4). Because holidays, working hours and wages are mandatory items in work rules, a change to the work rules (Article 89) is required. If scheduled working days or wages fall, this can affect the occasional revision of the standard monthly remuneration for social insurance (Health Insurance Act Article 43, Employees' Pension Insurance Act Article 23). A Shakai Hoken Roumushi handles the work rules and labour-management agreements as an independent business entity.
Labour at an after-school children's club (gakudo): placing support staff, opening hours and shifts, and part-timers' social insurance
The labour of an after-school children's club (gakudo) turns on the shifts that keep two or more after-school child support staff per support unit (Standards on Equipment and Operation of After-School Child Health Development Services, Ordinance of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare No. 63 of 2014, Article 10), the duty design for the long opening hours from weekday afternoon into the evening and across the long holidays, and part-time support staff's social insurance. The standard on the number and qualification of support staff changed from a national "standard to comply with" to a "standard to refer to" on 1 April 2020, so the applicable standard is set by the municipality's ordinance. It is a different system from after-school day services (ambulatory support for children with disabilities). The notification and operating standards belong to a Gyoseishoshi, each under a separate contract as an independent business entity.
Labour at an automobile maintenance shop (certified / designated shops): overtime, placing qualified staff, and concurrent duties
The core of labour at an automobile maintenance shop is whether you can keep a maintenance supervisor and a vehicle inspector placed full-time with their working hours met, the overtime, holiday work and premium wages of the mechanics, and the shifts for the busy periods when inspections concentrate. The maintenance supervisor is appointed from holders of a class-1 or class-2 automobile mechanic skills certificate (Ordinance for Enforcement of the Road Transport Vehicle Act, Article 62-2-2), and a designated shop (a private inspection site) also appoints a vehicle inspector. Designing work rules, the 36 Agreement and variable working hours is a Shakai Hoken Roumushi's work; the certification and designation applications belong to a Gyoseishoshi, each under a separate contract as an independent business entity.
What about workers' compensation when you are injured during a side job? Benefits for multiple-employment workers and the aggregation of wages
For someone employed by two or more companies who is injured or falls ill while working, an amendment in force since September 1, 2020 means the daily benefit base amount underlying workers' compensation is calculated by aggregating the wages of all workplaces (Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act, Article 8, paragraph 3). Also, a framework called a "multiple-work-factor disaster," which evaluates the work of several companies together, was created (Article 7, paragraph 1, item 2), so overload that no single company alone would recognize as work-related can be assessed across companies.
How do you introduce paid leave taken in hourly units? The labour-management agreement, the work rules, and the link to the five-days obligation
Hourly-unit annual paid leave lets workers take leave in units of hours, up to five days' worth a year, once a labour-management agreement is concluded (Labor Standards Act, Article 39, paragraph 4). The agreement must set the scope of covered workers, the number of days (up to five), and the hours that make up one day (Article 39, paragraph 4, and Enforcement Regulations, Article 24-4); leave in units of minutes, or exceeding the daily scheduled hours, is not allowed. Note that leave taken in hourly units cannot be counted toward the annual five-days obligation (Article 39, paragraph 7).
How do you set up the labour for an animal hospital or grooming salon? Companion Animal Nurses, night duty shifts, and part-timer social insurance
The first labour items for opening an animal hospital or grooming salon are three - employment contracts and notice of working conditions, work rules if you regularly use 10 or more, and a 36 Agreement if you have overtime or holiday work. To treat an overnight "stay" as night/day duty, the work must actually be intermittent, and you must obtain the labour standards inspection office director's permission in advance (Labor Standards Act Enforcement Ordinance Article 23). From a Shakai Hoken Roumushi's view, this article sets out shifts for veterinarians, Companion Animal Nurses and groomers, night/day duty, and part-timer social insurance, and separates the animal-handling business registration to a Gyoseishoshi, the property to a Real Estate Transaction Specialist, and tax to a tax accountant.
After a business succession or M&A, how do you unify working conditions when you take over employees? Disadvantageous change of work rules
Working conditions of employees taken over in a business succession or M&A are in principle carried over as they are. To unify wages, hours and retirement allowances into the buyer's system, changing them to the employees' disadvantage is in principle by individual agreement (Labor Contract Act Article 9); to lower them by changing the work rules without agreement, you need to make the changed rules known and the change to be reasonable (Article 10). Reasonableness is judged by the degree of disadvantage, the necessity of the change, the appropriateness of the content, and the state of labour-management negotiation. From a Shakai Hoken Roumushi's view, this article sets out the unification of work rules and the design of disadvantageous change, and separates collective labour disputes to an attorney, registration to a judicial scrivener, and tax on retirement allowances to a tax accountant.
Shall we start by reviewing how you work?
四葉社会保険労務士事務所 (Kohinata, Bunkyo-ku; a 5-minute walk from Myogadani Station on the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line) helps you, starting with a review of your current labour practices.
LINE connects you directly to our representative, Joji Uramatsu. Messages are accepted 24/7 and answered in order.
5 min walk from Myogadani Sta. (Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line)｜Tue & Wed 10:00–19:00 / Mon, Thu–Sun 18:00–19:00