Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

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

The Committee notes the observations of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (JTUC-RENGO)communicated with the Government’s report. It also notes the observations of the National Confederation of Trade Unions (ZENROREN), received on 31 August 2021.

Articles 3(1)(b) and 13 of the Convention. Preventive measures for workers engaged in decommissioning work and decontamination work with radioactive materials. The Committee takes note of the detailed information provided by the Government on the number of inspections carried out with respect to business operators engaged in decommissioning and decontamination work by the Fukushima Labour Bureau by 2019, and the number and nature of violations detected. In 2018 and 2019, the number of inspections for business operators increased in both decommissioning work (from 290 business operators to 325) and decontamination work (from 267 business operators to 338), while the percentage of those operators where violations were detected increased from approximately 53 per cent to 58 per cent in decommissioning work and increased from approximately 61 per cent to 67 per cent in decontamination work. The Committee notes the Government’s additional comment that figures for 2018 and 2019 on decontamination work are not strictly comparable.

The Committee further notes that the number of inspections of business operators engaged in decontamination works has decreased substantially over a longer period (from 1299 in 2015 to 338 in 2019). In addition, since the earthquake in 2011, five business operators engaged in decommissioning work and 17 business operators engaged in decontamination work have been referred to the Public Prosecutor's Office by the Fukushima Labour Bureau. Such cases included a failure to provide notification without delay of industrial accidents to the director of the competent Labour Standards Inspection Office, and a case where the operator exposed workers to machine-related dangers in the decontamination work. The Government provides information on the causes of the violations and the details of the guidance given to the business operators engaged in decommissioning work at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station and decontamination work in the Fukushima Prefecture. The Government indicates that, regarding the health and safety-related measures at workplaces, the percentage of violation is low in workplaces engaged in decommissioning work and higher in workplaces engaged in decontamination work. The Government provides guidance to prevent similar violations from occurring once corrective action has been confirmed, noting that such guidance is an important measure to prevent exposure to ionizing radiation. With regard to health management-related violations, a certain number of workplaces engaged in decommissioning and decontamination work were found to be in violation of the requirement to monitor working hours in order to provide interview-guidance by doctors, an important measure to ensure the health of workers who work long hours. In addition, in many cases the submission of reports of ionizing radiation medical examination of radiation workers to the director of the Competent Labour Standards Inspection Office was neglected. The Government provides guidance to ensure that both requirements are met. With regard to labour management, the Government indicates that since there are many violations due to lack of understanding of laws and regulations, the contents of laws and regulations are carefully explained during supervision and guidance. The Government will continue to provide necessary guidance to business operators engaged in decommissioning work to ensure that safety and health measures are implemented in accordance with related laws and regulations. In addition, necessary guidance will be provided to intermediate storage facilities and operators carrying contaminated soil, with a focus on measures to prevent industrial accidents associated with work, as well as to operators carrying out decontamination work in Designated Site Areas for Reconstruction and Revitalization. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the causes of violations and the measures taken to secure the enforcement of applicable labour standardsin decommissioning and decontamination works, the number of inspections undertaken, as well as the number and nature of violations detected in these areas. It also requests the Government to provide information on the reasons for the substantial decrease of inspections of business operators engaged in decontamination works from 2015 to 2019. The Committee reiterates its request that the Government provide information on the number of anonymous complaints and how often these result in detection of violations. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the outcome of the five cases related to decommissioning work and the 17 cases relating to decontamination work referred to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, including the penalties applied.

Articles 10 and 16. Sufficient number of labour inspectors. In reply to the Committee’s previous request, the Government indicates that, as of March 2021, the number of labour standards inspectors increased by 90 from March 2017 to March 2021. The Committee notes that as of March 2021 there were 3,018 inspectors in total with 238 inspectors having been appointed in 2020 including 72 female inspectors. In this respect, the Government indicates that it aims to make the best efforts to ensure the number necessary to strengthen the Labour Standards Inspection Offices. The JTUC-RENGO highlights the importance of improving the system of labour standards supervisory organizations, including by increasing the number of labour standard inspectors even further to achieve continuous and active implementation of labour standards-related laws and regulations, including strict supervision and guidance to ensure compliance with relevant regulations restricting overtime work. The Committee notes that, although the Government reports an increase of labour standards inspectors, ZENROREN highlights the need for drastic expansion and improvement of the structure of labour administration’s set-up involved in inspections, including by increasing the number of inspectors, technical officers and clerical workers in the office in order to ensure and improve the inspectors’ working conditions. TheCommittee requests the Government to provide information on the specific measures taken to ensure that the number of labour inspectors is sufficient to secure the effective discharge of the duties of the inspectorate related to labour standards laws and regulations as well as other laws, and to continue to provide information on the number of labour inspectors, disaggregated by both prefecture and gender.

Article 18. Safety of labour inspectors. Obstruction in the performance of their duties. The Committee notes that according to ZENROREN, an opinion survey conducted by the All-Labour Ministry Workers’ Union (Zenrodo) on labour inspectors showed that more than half of the labour inspectors in Japan have at some point felt threatened or have experienced physical violence or intimidation. The respondents in their comments identified a series of incidents of violence most of which occur during inspection visits of business offices on short notice rather than when meeting business owners in the Labour Standards Inspection Office. ZENROREN is of the opinion that when inspectors feel threatened or suffer physical violence, they are obstructed in the performance of their duties. It indicates, that, while in the past, inspection was conducted in principle by one inspector alone, from 2019, in view of the need to ensure inspectors’ safety and to train younger inspectors, inspection is performed in teams. It highlights however the difficulties arising from the fact that some inspection offices have fewer than ten (some even only two inspectors) which makes it very difficult to send more than one inspector to a business establishment at a time. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in relation to the observations related to violence, harassment and other external pressure faced by labour inspectors. It requests the Government to provide detailed information on cases of aggression against labour inspection staff and on the judicial follow-up to such situations, and also to provide details of penalties imposed under this Article in cases of obstruction of labour inspectors in the performance of their duties. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure the safety of labour inspectors and the effective discharge of their duties in cases of obstruction.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.