Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Japan (Ratification: 1953)

Articles 3, 13 and 17 of the Convention. Activities of the labour inspectorate in the area of occupational safety and health (OSH). The Committee notes the information provided by the Government, in response to its previous request, that in 2015, 972 workers died in occupational accidents (compared with 1,057 fatalities in 2014 and 1,030 fatalities in 2013). Approximately 34 per cent of the fatal accidents were in the construction sector, followed by approximately 25 per cent in tertiary industry (such as retail business, social welfare institutions and restaurants), approximately 17 per cent in manufacturing and almost 13 per cent in land transport. The results of over 118,000 regular inspections in these four sectors indicate violation rates of 62.5 per cent in construction and over 72 per cent in the three other sectors. The Government indicates that when violations of labour standards-related laws are acknowledged during inspections carried out by Labour Standards Inspection Offices, guidance for voluntary rectifications is given to the workplaces concerned. Cases of serious violations, such as violations that are not rectified despite repeated guidance, are referred to the Public Prosecutor’s Office. This included 560 cases in 2013, 628 cases in 2014, and 550 cases in 2015, related to violations of the Industrial Safety and Health Act. Moreover, the Government indicates that in the case of imminent danger to workers, orders are issued in accordance with section 98 of the Industrial Safety and Health Act to suspend work, suspend or alter the use of buildings, and take other necessary measures to prevent industrial accidents, but it does not provide information on the number of such orders issued, as previously requested by the Committee. The Government also provides information on measures taken in certain sectors, including the implementation of safety and health education for new business operators in the construction sector and the implementation of guidance and assistance activities by accident prevention organizations in manufacturing. The Committee requests the Government to pursue and strengthen its efforts to ensure that the services sector, the land transportation sector, the manufacturing sector and the construction sector are subject to an adequate number of effective inspections, and to continue to provide information on measures taken in this respect. It once again requests the Government to provide information on the number of orders issued pursuant to section 98 of the Industrial Safety and Health Act in the case of imminent danger to workers. Noting the information provided by the Government on the number of violations of the Industrial Safety and Health Act sent to the Public Prosecutor’s Office to seek judicial action, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the outcome of these cases, including the number and nature of sanctions imposed for violations detected relating to occupational safety and health.

Articles 3 and 18. Activities of the labour inspectorate related to hours of work. The Committee notes the indication of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (JTUC–RENGO), in its observations submitted in 2017, that the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has been working to reinforce its supervisory and inspection systems by developing a priority supervision system and establishing a special team to strengthen enforcement of regulations aimed at reducing excessive work-hours. The JTUC–RENGO indicates that such measures to strengthen enforcement must be promoted continuously and proactively, as a prerequisite for regulations that set limits on overtime hours and specify penalties for non-compliance. The JTUC–RENGO further indicates that supervision and guidance is needed for employers who have their employees perform overtime and holiday work. The Committee notes in this respect the information provided by the Government that for 2011–15, the greatest number of violations detected during periodic inspections conducted in each of the five years related to working hours (constituting over 30 per cent of violations detected). The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on measures taken to strengthen the enforcement of the legal provisions relating to hours of work, and to provide information on the number of cases relating to this subject in which the maximum statutory fine of 300,000 Japanese yen (US$3,000) was assessed and the number of cases sent to the Public Prosecutor’s Office for judicial action, as well as the outcome of these cases (how often was a maximum fine paid, what outcomes as a result of judicial acts).

Articles 20 and 21. Publication and content of the annual report on the work of the labour inspectorate. Following its previous request, the Committee notes with interest the submission of the annual labour inspection reports for the years 2014 and 2015. It also welcomes the summaries of the annual labour inspection reports from the years 2011 and 2015, submitted with the Government’s report, and containing information on the staff of the labour inspection service; statistics on inspection visits, violations and the number of cases sent to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, industrial accidents and occupational diseases. The Committee requests the Government to continue to communicate copies of annual labour inspection reports and summaries, and to ensure that they include statistics on the number of workplaces liable to inspection and the number of workers employed therein (in accordance with Article 21(c)); and statistics of penalties imposed (Article 21(e)).