Provisional The Action Plan for the Realization of Work Style Reform March 28, 2017 Decided by the Council for the Realization of Work Style Reform 1. The Significance of Work Style Reform from the Perspective of the Working People (1) The Current Economic Society Four years of Abenomics (aggressive monetary policy, flexible fiscal policy, growth strategy that promotes private investment) have brought huge achievements. The result was an increase in nominal GDP by 47 trillion yen. Japan’s economy grew 9%. Across-the-board pay scale hikes, something that had long been forgotten, have been achieved for four straight years. The jobs- to-applicants ratio surpassed 1.0 in all 47 prefectures for the first time in history. From 2015 regular employment started to increase and for 26 consecutive months has outpaced previous years’ figures. The relative poverty rate has been declining recently. In particular, the relative poverty rate for children, which had rose consistently since the start of the survey, dropped for the first time. Our economy is overcoming deflation and real wages have also been increasing. On the other hand, the private demand, which includes personal consumption and capital investments, remains stagnant although it is showing the gradual recovery. The structural issue regarding population, which is caused by the declining birthrate and aging population as well as the decrease in productive-age population, is at the root of the bottleneck hindering our economic growth. There are also the issues of the stagnation of the improvement in productivity, which is derived from a lack of innovation, as well as insufficient investment in the revolutionary technology. In order to realize the revitalization of Japan’s economy, it is essential to improve the value-added productivity through promotion of investment and innovation and the labor participation rate. To accomplish these goals, we need to build a society where everyone can fulfil one’s potential with own purpose in life. We will be able to overcome the various issues associated with the declining birthrate and aging population by opening the way to the bright future where all citizens will be dynamically engaged. Every person has different family background and situation. Various barriers, which include a stereotypical 1 labor institution and a difficulty in balancing work and childcare or nursing care, stand in our ways even if we hope to accomplish something. We will get rid of these barriers one by one. We will build a country where all citizens will be dynamically engaged by taking these steps. (2) Basic Stance for Future Measures The greatest challenge toward the revitalization of Japan’s economy is work style reform. How we work is a synonym for how we live. Work style reform is at the heart of Japan’s corporate culture, and is rooted in the lifestyles of Japanese people and Japan’s way of thinking in regard to wo rk. We have not been able to embark on a full-scale reform, although many people were aware that conducting work style reform would positively contribute to a better work-life balance or improved productivity. That is why we need enough energy to change our society in order to accomplish this reform. The Abe Cabinet pursues a society where everyone can choose various and flexible work styles that respond to one’s individual will, capacity and circumstance. We will strive to drastically reform our labor institution from the perspective of the working people and change our corporate culture and climate. The purpose of work style reform is to enable every worker to have the hope of a better future. We build a society where everyone can choose various work styles to build one’s own future. We will create various opportunities for motivated people. Our current labor institution and work styles in Japan have various challenges including those regarding labor participation, balancing work and childcare or nursing care, career change or reemployment opportunities and side jobs or multiple jobs done in conjunction. In addition, there are also some problems which prevent the improvement in labor productivity. Irrational gaps in the treatment of two different work styles of “regular” workers and “non-regular” workers make “non-regular” workers feel that they are not receiving fair treatment and lose their motivation to do better. If we can close these irrational gaps between the two work styles, “non-regular” workers will be able to convince that their abilities are fairly evaluated. A feeling of convincing is important as an incentive which attracts the motivation of workers and therefore improves labor productivity. Also, the practice of long working hours make it difficult for us to ensure health and balance work with 2 family life, which leads to the declining birthrate, prevention of women’s career formation and men’s participation to household affairs. If we amend the long working hours, the work-life balance will improve, and it will become easier for women and senior citizens to find work, which leads to the improvement in the labor participation rate. Managers will become more conscious of the various ways in which people can work for them, and therefore labor productivity (per man-hour) will also improve. Furthermore, the single-track career path in Japan makes it difficult to choose work styles that fit well with his or her stage of life. If we establish flexible labor markets and corporate practices, which are fair to those who seek to change their careers, workers will be able to design their own careers by choosing work styles which fit well with themselves. Also, enabling working people to change their careers to or to be reemployed in high-value added industries will lead to the improvement in productivity of the entire country. Work style reform is the best means of improving labor productivity. We will establish a “virtuous cycle of growth and distribution,” where we will distribute fruits of the improvement in productivity to working people to achieve growth through increase in wages and expansion of demands. We will simultaneously achieve expansion of personal income, improvement in productivity and earning capacity of firms and economic growth of the entire country. Work style reform is not only a social issue, but also an economic one which leads to the increase in the potential growth rate of Japan’s economy. In other words, this reform is a pillar of the structural reforms that comprise the third arrow of Abenomics. Now that the employment environment is taking this positive turn, we are presented with a major opportunity to press forward with work style reform. It is necessary for the Government, labor, and management to precisely become the three arrows and work collectively. We need to drastically change thinking and institutions in our society in order to enable people to choose various and flexible work styles. We will banish the term “non-regular employment” from this country. We also need to change our present society, where people commonly tend to take pride in long working hours and take it for granted. We will also change the single-track career path in Japan. People will lead rich lives. We will enrich the middle class, boost their consumption and enable more people to have abundant families. Our 3 birthrate will improve by taking these steps. We will steadily promote work style reforms from the perspective of the working people. (3) Implementation of This Plan (Speed and Implementation Based on Consensus) The Council for the Realization of Work Style Reform was set up a conference body where the Prime Minister himself inaugurated as a chairman and top leaders from both labor and management as well as intellectuals gather together and discuss at the higher level compared to the previous discussions. In order to realize equal pay for equal work, we presented draft detailed guidelines after the submission of the discussion report of the intellectuals and argued how we will revise related legislative rules based on these guidelines. In regard to correction of the long working hours, after the agreement on a limit on overtime work between labor and management, the Government, labor, and management came to jointly propose a new regulation. Furthermore, we discussed the issues of nine areas in total to present our concrete directions. This action plan is the outcome of these discussions. Both labor and management who know best the situation of the working people as well as other intellectuals reached the agreement. Both labor and management are required to respect this agreement and promptly discuss at the Labor Policy Council, on the premise of this action plan. The Government is required to promptly submit legislation to the Diet. Speed and implementation are of the utmost importance. Especially, the Labor Policy Council has long discussed the issue of regulating the maximum hours of overtime work permitted with penalties attached to the regulations, but it has not reached a conclusion. Therefore, our commitment represents a historic and major reform in the 70-year history of the Labor Standards Law. It was the groundbreaking event that labor and management reached their agreement this time. We, the Government, labor, and management, must work on legislating the regulation with the strong belief that we can definitely achieve such reform right now. (Long-term and Continuous Efforts Based on Roadmaps) In order to realize work style reform, we must continuously implement the reform over the long run without stopping its momentum. We 4 present its basic stance and its procedure and then discuss policy measures to achieve certain goals, including legislative rules, aiming to ensure the path to the realization of the reform. Also, we hereby present the most important issues in the roadmaps and selectively promote them. In addition, it is essential for each actor, including labor and management, to embark on a new action as a bearer of the economic society. Especially, companies, which have strong influences on an economic activity and a social life of each citizen, are expected to proactively work on issues these issues. (Follow-up and Revision of the Measures) In regard to the progress of the roadmaps decided in this action plan, we will continuously conduct a survey on implementation status and revise related measures. On this occasion, we will reorganize the Council for the Realization of Work Style Reform and set up a follow-up meeting consisting of the same members as the council. 2. Improvement in the Working Conditions of Non-regular Workers Such as by Providing Equal pay for Equal Work. (1) Preparation of Legislative Rules and Guidelines to Ensure Effectiveness of Equal Pay for Equal Work (Basic Stance) Non-regular workers account for 40% of all workers in Japan. Although the percentage of people who work as non-regular workers against his or her will has been declining during the last several years, there are many women who choose to engage in non-regular employment from the latter half of their 30s for various reasons, such as because they get married, or to have more time to raise their children. We need to improve the employment conditions of non-regular workers and to broaden the options for various work styles for women, young people, and others, which will also enable us to revitalize the middle class, who have been damaged during the deflation, cultivate even more rare human resources and open up the opportunities of self-realization for everyone. Improvement in the working conditions of non-regular workers is also important for resolving the poverty issue of single mothers or unmarried women, who are more likely to work as non-regular workers. 5 The purpose of the introduction of equal pay for equal work is to eliminate the irrational gap in the working conditions of regular versus non- regular workers (limited term workers, part-time workers, dispatched workers) in each firm or organization in order to enable non-regular worker to be fairly evaluated and to work with higher motivations. Although the working conditions such as wages should be basically decided by labor and management, there is a huge gap in the working conditions of regular versus non-regular workers in Japan when we compare with European countries. It is important for us to formulated policies which are well harmonized with the structure of the entire labor market in Japan, referring to the reality in European countries where the idea of equal pay for equal work is said to be more widely accepted. In Japan, there are many cases where various elements are combined together when deciding wages such as basic pay. Therefore, in order to realize equal pay for equal work, it is crucial for each company, at the very beginning, to clarify the essential jobs/skills. Then both labor and management should affirm the entire system of working conditions including the relationships between jobs/skills and wages by holding dialogues in order to share the common recognition between labor and management including non-regular workers. Toward the realization of equal pay for equal work, each company is expected to clarify the contents of the essential jobs/skills, promote fair evaluation based on them and establish the entire system of working conditions including wage system based on that evaluation. In doing so, start- up companies or SMEs are expected to devise the system of working conditions by holding dialogues between labor and management, taking into consideration the fact that the jobs contents are diverse and fluid in those companies. In regard to the clarification of jobs/skills and the fair evaluation, we will promote them not only by preparing legislative rules but also by collaborating with related policies such as supports for companies introducing the personnel system where workers are evaluated based not upon their seniority but upon their capacities, providing occupational information on knowledge, skills and technologies which are required for various jobs and preparing the system of evaluation of occupational skills by utilizing skill examinations and job cards. 6 Through these efforts of eliminating the irrational gap between regular and non-regular workers, we will enable workers to be treated with their consent no matter what kind of work styles they choose and then to banish the term “non-regular employment” from this country. (Guidelines on Equal Pay for Equal Work) It is important to concretely set what kind of gaps in the working conditions are irrational. The draft government guidelines on equal pay for equal work was formulated toward the realization of equal pay for equal work by ensuring balanced and fair treatment regardless of work styles such as regular or non- regular employment. The draft guidelines cover not only basic pay, pay rises, bonuses, and various kinds of allowances, but also education, training, and welfare. In addition to presenting our basic idea, in order to enable SMEs to easily understand the contents, we have also incorporated many examples of what could be problematic, and what would not be problematic, with respect to typical cases. In order to enable workers, who require the correction of irrational gaps, to have legal battles over the working conditions including those which are not written within the draft guidelines, we will prepare the legislative rules that will comprise the basis of these guidelines. From now on, we will promote the legal revisions based on the draft guidelines. With regard to the draft guidelines, taking into consideration the views of stakeholders and the Diet deliberations on the bill for the relevant legal revisions, we will finalize them. Then, we will implement them on the same day as the legal revisions are implemented. Also, since the purpose of these draft guidelines is to eliminate the irrational gap in the working conditions of regular versus non-regular workers in each firm or organization, they are assumed to be referred when such irrational gaps actually exist. Therefore, these draft guidelines cannot cover the cases where such gaps do not objectively exist. The summary of the draft guidelines is as follows. ① Ensuring Balanced and Fair Treatment regarding Basic Pay The draft government guidelines on equal pay for equal work recognize the reality that a variety of factors, each with a different essence and nature, goes into basic pay, such as pay commensurate to the work done, 7 pay commensurate to the employee’s ability, and pay commensurate to the employee’s length of service. Taking the essence and nature of these factors into due consideration, we seek equal pay when there is no difference in the conditions, and pay that reflects the difference if there is one. In other words, we cut to the fair treatment, not only the balanced treatment this time. In regard to pay rise, also, if a company tries to raise the employee’s pay according to the improvement of his or her ability, we seek equal pay rise when there is no difference in the employee’s ability, and pay that reflects the difference if there is one. ② Ensuring Balanced and Fair Treatment regarding Various Allowances In regard to bonus, if a company tries to pay the employee’s bonus according to his or her contribution to the corporate performance, we seek equal bonus when there is no difference in the employee’s ability, and pay that reflects the difference if there is one. In regard to executive allowance, also, if a company tries to pay the executive allowance according the role content, the range and the degree of responsibility, we seek equal executive allowance when there is no difference in his or her role content and responsibility, and pay that reflects the difference if there is one. Also, we require equal special work allowance which is paid according to the risk of the work, equal special work allowance which is paid for work in shifts, equal premium rate of overtime allowance which is paid for equal overtime work out of regular working hours, equal premium rate of midnight/holiday work allowance, equal commutation allowance/travelling allowance, equal meal allowance which is paid when mealtime is inserted during working hours, equal unaccompanied duty allowance for workers who fulfill the same requirements, equal regional allowance which is paid to workers who work in the specific regions. Although companies tend to explain that indefinite-term full-time works and fixed-term or part-time workers are expected to play different roles and therefore decision criteria or rules of the wages, which include basic pay or various allowances, for them become different. However, this explanation cannot be regarded as sufficient because it is too subjective and abstract. We require companies to set decision criteria or rules of the wages that are not irrational in the context of objective and concrete situations such as job 8 contents or range of shifts in job contents or personnel positioning. ③ Ensuring Balanced and Fair Treatment regarding Welfare and Educational Training We require companies to allow their workers to use welfare facilities such as cafeterias, lounges and locker rooms regardless of their employment styles. Also, we require companies to allow their workers to live in corporate housings regardless of their employment styles, if they fulfill the same requirements such as presence or absence of opportunities of relocation. We require companies to ensure equal congratulation or condolence leaves and equal opportunities of being exempted from working with pay due to the results of health checkups as well. In regard to medical leaves, we require companies to give equal leaves to indefinite-term part-time workers as indefinite-term full-time workers. We also require companies to give equal leaves to fixed-term workers, according to remaining period of their labor contracts. In regard to annual leaves not stipulated in laws, we require companies to give equal leaves for workers with the same seniority, if they give leaves according to the workers’ seniority. When workers have updated their fix-term labor contracts, especially, we require companies to count cumulative period since the initial contract periods in the duration of service. In regard to educational training, if companies conduct training in order to enable workers to acquire essential skills and knowledge for work, we require companies to conduct equal training when there is no difference in the workers’ job contents, and conduct that reflects the difference if there is one. ④ Working Conditions of Dispatched Workers We require dispatching business operators to pay equal wages, ensure equal welfare and conduct equal educational training when there is no difference between job contents, range of shifts in job contents or personnel positioning of dispatched workers and workers in dispatch destinations and pay or conduct those reflect the difference if there is one. (Direction of Legal Revision) We will firstly present a large-scale vision. The vision will indicate 9 that promoting fair decision of evaluation and working conditions of regular workers, part-time workers, fixed-term workers and dispatched workers according to their job contents, achievement, capacities and experiences will contribute to the development of our economy and society through enabling workers to effectively manifest their capacities. Then, we will revise related legislative rules to prepare basis of the draft guidelines, which will enable workers to get relief in legal battles (judicial ruling), to ensure effectiveness of the guidelines. In particular, we will revise Part-time Workers Act, Labor Contracts Act and Worker Dispatching Act. The summary of the contents of our revision is as follows. ① Preparing Rules Which will be the Grounds for Judicial Ruling Required by Workers Present rules impose no regulations regarding fair treatment for fixed-term workers on companies. We have no regulations regarding balanced treatment for dispatched workers, without mentioning fair treatment for them. In order to change this situation, we will revise laws in order to require fair treatment for fixed-term workers, and to require balanced and fair treatment for dispatched workers. We will clarify the rules on balanced treatment for workers including part-time workers. ② Obligation of Explaining Treatment for Workers Although there are debates about which of the labor and the management should have the burden of proof, it is quite natural that each of those who sue and those who are sued will prove their own arguments during the legal battles. It is important for us to establish effective legislative rules in order to enable workers who require the correction of the irrational gap to fight in legal battles. We must prevent workers from giving up resorting to legal actions because of the information owned only by companies. This standpoint is also important, considering the need of preventing workers from being disadvantaged during the dialogues between the labor and the management, even when they do not reach legal battles. Present rules impose no obligations of explaining the gaps in the treatment between part-time workers/fixed-term workers/dispatched 10 workers and comparable regular workers on companies. We impose no obligations of explaining the treatment for fixed-term workers (not to mention its gaps) on companies. The planned revision will introduce obligations of explaining the contents of the treatment applied to fixed-term workers to the workers themselves when companies hire them. Also, the planned revision will impose obligations of explaining the reasons of the gaps in the treatment between part-time workers/fixed-term workers/dispatched workers and comparable workers, by requests from the workers, after companies hire them. ③ Operating Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) We will prepare laws to ensure that workers requiring the correction of the irrational gaps in the treatment can ultimately fight in legal battles. However, workers must bear the economic burdens when they resort to legal actions. In order to resolve this problem, we will operate Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and enable workers requiring balanced/fair treatment to easily utilize it free of charge. ④ Preparing Laws for Dispatched Workers Dispatching business operators cannot fulfill the obligations of ensuring balanced/fair treatment between dispatched workers and workers in dispatch destinations without information on the wage level of workers in the destinations. Therefore, we will prepare rules imposing on dispatch destinations the obligations of giving information on working conditions of workers in dispatch destinations to dispatching business operators. On the other hand, the application of equal pay for equal work could well destabilize the wage levels of dispatched workers when their dispatch destinations change and lead to the situation where those wage levels become inconsistent with career development supports, which include phased and systematic educational training, offered by dispatching business operators. This is why Germany exempts cases of dispatched workers from the application of equal pay for equal work when labor agreements are made. However, we may not be able to ensure effectiveness of equal pay for equal work if we just rely on a consensus between the labor and the management. 11 Therefore, we do not require balanced/fair treatment between dispatched workers and workers in dispatch destinations if labor agreements, which satisfy the following three requirements and are regarded as ones which sufficiently protect dispatched workers, are made. Even in these cases, we require not just the execution of labor agreements but also the actual implementation of the agreements in a way that satisfies the following three requirements. 1. The wage levels of the dispatched workers are the same or more than those of general workers engaged in similar works 2. The capacities of the dispatched workers are properly evaluated and reflected to their wages on the premise of their career development 3. The treatment for the dispatched workers, other than their wages, are not irrational compared to those of regular workers hired by dispatching business operators. (2) Enforcement of Revised Laws (Ensuring Preparatory Period before Enforcement) Since this revision will have huge influence on activities of companies including SMEs, we will keep companies informed and ensure sufficient preparatory period before the enforcement. (Briefing Sessions and Consultation Desks) We require related agencies to hold briefing sessions, prepare information/consultation desks, and respond conscientiously to both labor and management, considering the actual situations of SMEs. Also, we will provide supports for the promotion of transition from non-regular workers to regular positions and the wage increase. We will establish a supporting system for companies working on building communalized systems of working conditions, which include not only wages but also other allowances, for both regular and non-regular workers. 3. An increase in Wages and Improvement in Productivity (1) Encouraging Companies to Increase Wages and Improving Transaction Terms We are now getting out of deflation by implementing the policies of 12 the three arrows of Abenomics and earnings of Japanese companies are at their highest levels. We will increase the total income of employees by ensuring a virtuous cycle of economy furthermore. We will realize this by turning the highest-level corporate earnings into continuous increase of wages and improving the labor share which has been recently declining. We will raise the minimum wage at an annual rate of approximately 3%, considering the growth rate of nominal GDP. Through this increase in the minimum wage, we will aim for the national weighted average to reach 1,000 yen. To accomplish this goal, we will support improvement in productivity of SMEs and improve their transaction terms. Furthermore, in order to improve the transaction terms of SMEs, we revised the notice on payment of subcontract proceeds for the first time in 50 years. We eliminated the practice of payment by bill, which had made SMEs experience funding difficulties, and establish a principle of payment by cash. In addition, we fundamentally revised the guidelines for the Act against Delay in Payment of Subcontract Proceeds for the first time in 13 years, taking into account the recent bullying targeted at subcontractors. We will operate these rules strictly and improve the transaction terms of subcontracts. Also, we will require the industries to steadily make efforts grounded in voluntary action plans based on these rules. In order to follow up their efforts, we will grasp their progress through hearing surveys, which will be targeted at 2000+ cases, conducted by subcontract G-men (transaction investigators) positioned nationwide. If we find any problems, we will discuss and conduct necessary measures such as requesting a revision of a voluntary action plan. (2) Enabling Companies to Increase Wages through Supports for Improvement in Productivity In order to encouraging companies positively working on wage increase, we will conduct necessary measures using taxation and budgets. We will encourage them by expanding the tax exemption. Furthermore, we will prepare a personnel evaluation system and a wage system, which will contribute to improvement in productivity, and establish a subsidization system for companies which realize both improvement in productivity and wage increase. We will also revise the Employment Insurance Act and add “contribution to improvement in productivity” to its vision of employment 13 stabilization and capacity development. Furthermore, we will conduct reforms such as setting productivity requirements for employment-related subsidies and enhancing collaboration with finance institutions. 4. Improvement in Long Working Hours Including Introduction of a Regulatory Limit on Overtime Work (Basic Stance) We have long working hours compared to European countries and the number of working hours of full-time workers has almost remained unchanged for 20 years. In order to enable people to balance work with childcare or nursing care, we must correct our practice of long working hours. On the premise that we will ensure workers’ health, we will improve productivity per man-hour and work-life balance and change our society into a better working environment for women and the elderly. In regard to the correction of long working hours, it is important for us to revise legislation that will concretely establish a limit on overtime work with penal regulations, a limit that cannot be exceeded even under the so - called Article 36 agreement. On the other hand, since the Labor Standards Act only establishes the minimum rules to be preserved, it goes without saying that we will require companies to make efforts of preventing overtime work beyond the Act. The practice of working long hours is a structural problem, and will also require the reconsideration of company cultures and transaction customs. Many people may say, “When I was young, I received a low monthly base pay while working unfixed and unlimited hours.” At one point in time, an ideal image for a worker was someone who put work above all else. We will deny that way of thinking itself. Both labor and management are expected to take the lead in changing this culture, which lies at the root of our work styles. (Direction of Legal Revision) The present regulation on overtime work sets a regulatory limit on overtime work, which is put under the Article 36 agreement, within the Ministerial Ordinance of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare on limit standards of extension of working hours. Although the present regulation defines the maximum hours of overtime work permitted in principle as 45 hours per month and 360 hours per year, it has no legal binding power derived 14 from penalties and companies can make their workers work overtime unlimitedly by establishing special clauses for temporary and special situations based on consensus between labor and management. This legal revision literally promotes the contents of the present Ministerial Ordinance to a law and adds legal biding power to them. It will set a regulatory limit that cannot be exceeded even in cases with consensus between labor and management on temporary and special situations. In other words, this revision will make the present ordinance stricter and add legal biding power by promoting it to a law. The direction of the revision of the Labor Standards Act, which is based on a consensus on a regulatory limit on overtime work between Japanese Trade Union Confederation and Japanese Business Federation, is as follows. (A Regulatory Limit on Overtime Work) We will define the maximum hours of overtime work permitted in principle over 40 hours per week as 45 hours per month and 360 hours per year. We will impose penalties for any violations other than the following special cases where the maximum hours of overtime work are defined as 720 hours per year (=60 hours per month on average) and cannot be exceeded even in cases with consensus on temporary and special situations between labor and management. In addition, within this upper limit of 720 hours per year, a minimal limit for a case of a temporary increase of the amount of work, which also cannot be exceeded, is established. In regard to this minimal limit, we require the following conditions to be preserved. ① All of the 2-month, 3-month, 4-month, 5-month and 6-month means of overtime working hours including working on holidays must be within 80 hours. ② Overtime working hours of any single month including working on holidays must be less than 100 hours. ③ In addition, considering the maximum hours of overtime work permitted in principle over 40 hours per week are defined as 45 hours per month and 360 hours per year, we do not allow special exceptions, which exceed these principles, to be applied in more than half a year, which means the exceptions can be applied 6 times a year at 15 maximum. On the other hand, considering both labor and management reached a consensus on their responsibilities of avoiding agreements with almost the maximum limits of overtime work, in order to further shorten the overtime working hours as possible, we will create new rules, which will set up guidelines, within the Labor Standards Act. Based on these guidelines, related administrative agencies will be able to offer advice and guidance for employers and labor unions. (Measures for Power Harassment and Mental Health) Tightening the management of working hours is not the only thing to do when we improve the work environment so that workers can work staying healthy. We will promote creation of better relationships between workers and their bosses or colleagues. Within a discussion with attendance of both labor and management, we will discuss enhancement of measures against power harassment in workplaces. In addition, we will discuss setting new goals of measures for mental health within a policy outline based on the Act on Promotion of Measures for “karoshi” and revise our government goals. (Interval System) We will revise the Act on Special Measures for Improvement of Working Hours Arrangements to impose on companies the obligations of making efforts of ensuring a certain period of break between the start time of a day and the finish time of the day before. In order to spread this system, we will establish an intellectual meeting which includes labor and management. We will also utilize subsidies for SMEs introducing this system and popularize good practices. (Ensuring Preparatory Period before Enforcement) In order to prevent companies such as SMEs from suffering from drastic changes, we will ensure sufficient preparatory period before the enforcement. (Revision) We will discuss the implementation process of the revised Labor Standards Act at a proper time after 5 years from the enforcement of the Act. 16 We will conduct a review based on a result of the discussion if necessary. (Treatment of Industries Presently Exempted from Regulations) We will discuss how to treat the industries presently exempted from the regulations based on the actual situations, sharing the direction of promotion of work style reform from the perspective of the working people. Automobile driving work is presently exempted from the application of the Ministerial Ordinance on a limit of overtime work. Considering its specialty, we are already supervising automobile driving operators based on another Ministerial Ordinance, which establishes a limit on hours on duty. However, this industry still allows their workers to work overtime for a longer time compared to the other industries regulated by the Ministerial Ordinance. This time, we will not exempt this industry from application of the regulations with penalties. After 5 years from the enforcement of the general rules of the revised Act, we will impose on this industry a regulation defining the maximum hours of overtime work permitted as 960 hours per year (=80 hours per month) . Also, we will establish a rule stipulating that we will try to apply the general rules to the industry in the future. Toward the enforcement, we will discuss measures to shorten the working hours within a conference consisting of related parties including shippers. We will energetically promote preparation of an environment for correction of long working hours. Construction work is also presently exempted from the application of the Ministerial Ordinance. This time, we will not exempt this industry from application of the regulations with penalties. After 5 years from the enforcement of the general rules of the revised Act, we will apply the general rules to the industry (while we will not apply conditions which require overtime working hours to be less than 100 hours in a single month and within 80 hours on 2-month or 6-month average in cases of restoration or reconstruction). At the same time, we will establish a rule stipulating that we will try to apply the general rules to the industry in the future. Toward the enforcement, we will energetically promote efforts of gradually shortening working hours while gaining understanding and cooperation of ordering parties. We will cover doctors in the regulations on overtime work. However, it is important for us to discuss while considering their specialty such as their duties to fill prescription. In particular, after 5 years from the enforcement of 17 the revised Act, we will apply the regulations to the medical community. In order to achieve this, we will establish a discussion forum with attendance of the community, discuss and draw a conclusion on related regulations and measures to shorten working hours 2 years from now, in order to realize the new, high-quality medical services and the new work styles of medical fronts. Research and Development (R&D) of new technologies and new products is presently exempted from application of the Ministerial Ordinance. We can see some specialties in this type of work in that it is engaged by human resources with specific, scientific knowledge and skills. Considering this situation, we will exempt this type of work after clarifying regulation subjects in order not to broaden the present regulated range, on the presupposition that we will impose on companies the obligations of effectively ensuring workers’ health by giving them opportunities of undergoing interviews with doctors and taking substitute day off. (Other Issues to be Concerned such as Unexpected Disasters) The Article 33 of the Labor Standards Act prescribes that working hours can extend in inevitable cases such as responses to unexpected accidents or disasters. We will extend this measure. Within its interpretation, we will clarify that this measure will cover countermeasures against system down events triggered by cyber-attacks and massive recalls. (Promoting Efforts of Different Types of Companies such as Improvement in Transaction Terms) Workers of SMEs tend to work longer to respond to orders for quick delivery and other requests from their customers because they are weak in transactions compared to large companies. We will further enhance revision of business practices and justification of transaction terms. In regard to automobile driving work, we will establish an inter- ministry discussion forum to revise related systems and conduct supporting measures to correct long working hours by improving its productivity through utilization of IT, ensuring and cultivating various human resources. We will establish and conduct action plans on these measures. In regard to truck transportation companiespecially, we will establish guidelines based on the ongoing experimental project participated by business operators, shippers and related institutions. Also, collaborating with related ministries, we will 18 conduct necessary measures and supports toward (1) the correction of transaction terms of subcontracts, (2) the improvement in productivity which will shorten working hours by enabling several drivers to share their transport paths, and (3) the operation of shippers on shortening the drivers’ time to wait shipment. In regard to construction work, we need understanding and cooperation of ordering parties including private ones, such as proper setting of construction periods, ensuring proper wage levels and ensuring holidays by promoting two-day weekend. We will establish a discussion forum consisting of related parties including ordering parties to establish a necessary environment to apply the regulations on overtime work to construction work and support efforts of the industry. Also, we will ensure and cultivate human resources with technological skills and knowledge and improve present institutions to enable them to play active roles. Furthermore, we will improve productivity of the industry by equalizing construction schedules, fully utilizing ICT, simplifying documents and supporting small and medium-sized construction companies. In regard to IT industry, we will encourage the industry to correct overtime work by following up its quantitative goal, which was set by its industry groups, such as limiting overtime working hours to one hour a day or less on average. (Enhancement of Supervision over Headquarters of Companies) We will promote investigations over critical issues, which will be conducted by a special team to eliminate overworks (katoku). Also, in order to ask for responsibility and awareness of executives of companies, we will require company-wide improving measures against a company, if their workers at multiple workplaces work long hours illegally, by not only imposing guidance on each workplace as is conventionally done but also conducting an on-site inspection on a headquarter and imposing guidance on executives including countermeasures against power-harassment. We will also enhance a present system of disclosing company names by additionally covering the companies whose workers at multiple workplaces illegally work overtime more than 80 hours a month. (Supports for Self-realization of Workers with Motivation and Abilities) 19 We need labor laws which enable individuals working autonomously in creative jobs to show their motivation and abilities to the fullest and achieve self-realization. The proposal for revision of the Labor Standards Act, which has been submitted to the Diet, will correct long working hours and ensure workers’ health while enabling them to choose a new labor system allowing them to show their motivation and abilities. In particular, we will revise measures of correcting long working hours such as revising extra wages for overtime work longer than 60 hours a month at SMEs and ensuring annual paid leaves. Also, we will establish a Sophisticated Professional System and revise the Discretionary Working System for Management-related Work in order to realize various and flexible work styles. We will try to promptly pass this proposal for revision of the Act in the Diet. 5. Promotion of Flexible Work Styles Telework is an effective means of balancing childcare and nursing care with work and enabling various people to show their abilities because it imposes no geographical or time restrictions on workers. Side jobs and multiple jobs done in conjunction are effective means for development of new technologies, open innovation and entrepreneurship. It is also effective for preparation for a new life after retirement. In Japan’s case, there are still extremely few telework users, or companies that allow side jobs and multiple jobs done in conjunction. It is extremely important that we work to spread these practices. On the other hand, we would be getting our priorities backwards if those practices encourage long working hours. We need to organize our ideas on how to manage long working hours. We would like to consider a variety of policy measures, including the formulation of guidelines. (1) Renewal of Guidelines for Employment-type Telework and Supports for Introduction Employment-type telework is a term referring to a type of telework where workers who make labor contracts with business operators work at their own homes. Recently, since mobile devices are becoming more popular, new types of teleworks where workers work not only at their own homes but also at satellite offices or using mobile devices. Considering these changes, we 20 will revise guidelines for employment-type telework, which have only covered telework at homes until now, and sort out our means for management of working hours in order to prevent telework from leading to long working hours. In particular, we will add telework at satellite offices or using mobile devices to means for utilization of telework in order to spread this type of work. In introducing telework, we need to properly manage working hours. However, we have not yet clarified how to treat working hours when workers temporarily leave their teleworking places for childcare and nursing care or how to treat travel time when workers do telework only half a day. Therefore, in order to prevent companies from hesitating to introducing telework, assuming workers’ actual situations, we will concretely clarify how to treat the above cases within a flex-time system or a normal system of working hours and when to apply a de facto working hours system for outside work. In order to prevent long working hours, we will recommend restriction or restraint of late-night work and sending emails late at night or during holidays. In addition, we will revise guidelines for necessary security measures when introducing telework, considering recent development in access to ICT such as Wi-fi, cloud services, smartphones and tablets or actual situations of telework at satellite offices or using mobile devices. Furthermore, using a framework of National Strategic Special Zones, we will conduct one-stop consultation supports for companies introducing telework. We will implement model projects for workers giving childcare or those handicapped. Also, in order to enable people to easily utilize telework, we will widely discuss how to promote telework including means for management of working hours and workers’ health. In addition, we will discuss how to promote telework as a national movement and implement necessary measures with a collaboration among related ministries. (2) Renewal of Guidelines for Non-employment-type Telework and Supports for Workers Non-employment-type telework is a term referring to a type of telework where workers, who do not make labor contracts with business operators but undertake assignments from them, work at their own homes. 21 Crowdsourcing, which is a job introduction service through the Internet, is rapidly expanding and we have more opportunities of jobs not based on labor contracts. Workers of these not-employment-type telework are facing various troubles with ordering parties or intermediate agents such as unilateral changes in job contents or overwork associated with it, unreasonably low rewards or delayed payment of them, unauthorized diversion of copyrighted works temporarily delivered during proposal process. Considering work styles, which are like employment, such as non- employment-type telework are more increasing, we will grasp the present situation and discuss necessity of legal protection as a mid-term or long-term agenda, establishing a conference consisting of intellectuals. We will revise the present guidelines for ordering parties of non- employment-type telework which are based on face-to-face contracts between workers and ordering parties without intermediate agents. In this revision, we will clarify these guidelines should be preserved by intermediate agents when they temporarily accept orders and then reorder teleworkers. Also, considering the actual situation of troubles associated with expansion of crowdsourcing such as the increase in simplified deals without contract documents and copyrighted works temporarily delivered, we will clarify rules, which should be preserved by intermediate agents, such as obligations of manifesting intermediate commissions and their treatment of copyrights. Then, we will publicize the rules and make agents preserve them. In addition, we will discuss and implement private-public efforts of preparing safety nets for workers and arranging educational trainings. (3) Establishment of Guidelines toward Promotion of Side Jobs/Multiple Jobs and Revised Model Rules for Employment Although the number of people wishing to work side jobs or multiple jobs done in done in conjunction has been increasing recently, there are still extremely few companies that allow them. In order to change this situation, we will promote them to allow these types of jobs in principle while ensuring workers’ health at the same time. We will present advantages of these types of jobs and based on legal precedents in the past and theoretical discussions, clarify as a rule that companies cannot ban side jobs and multiple jobs without reasonable reasons within their own employment rules otherwise these jobs have some 22 disadvantages for workers’ provision of services in primary jobs, operation of companies, credit and reputation of the companies. In order not to make these jobs lead to long working hours, we will revise guidelines so that they will include templates of workers’ tools to confirm their working hours by themselves as well as instructions on how companies should manage working hours and health of their workers working side jobs or multiple jobs. We will revise the model rules for employment in order to allow these types of jobs. We will publicize the various advanced cases of initiation or creation of new companies and countermeasures against labor shortage in SMEs through side jobs and multiple jobs. In addition, we will discuss how to create fair institutions of employment insurance and social insurance, how to manage workers’ working hours and health, and how to issue workers’ accident compensation from the viewpoints of protecting workers working at multiple workplaces and promoting side jobs and multiple jobs. 6. Creation of an Environment Where it is Easy for Women and Young people to Play Active Roles such as Human Resource Cultivation (1) Enhancement of Supports for Relearning of Individuals such as Recurrent Education for Women It is a fact that, in Japan, there are many cases where, if women who were formerly regular employees take child-rearing leave, they have very few choices but to choose jobs where they cannot make use of their past experiences or occupational capacities when they seek to return to their previous jobs or find another job. This also a problem from the viewpoint of improvement in labor productivity as well. We will enable those women to receive recurrent education in universities, which will contribute to improvement in their job performance skills, and supports for their reemployment afterward. This is how we will enable women to be choose jobs harmonized with their stage of life. In order to achieve this goal, we will revise the Employment Insurance Act to enhance training and education benefits applied to registration fees of specialized education classes linked directly with skills required in workplaces. We will increase the maximum payout rate from 60% to 70% and increase the ceiling of benefits per year from 480,000 yen to 560,000 yen. We will also extend the qualification period from 4 years to 10 years, from the 23 moment of leaving jobs for childcare. We will promptly abolish the system which required people to conduct procedures of extending their qualification period within one month after they left their jobs. We will increase opportunities of acquisition and evaluation of various skills, closely provide supports for reemployment, enhance recurrent education classes for women, which will be able to be taken on Saturday and Sunday, during evening hours or within a short time, and promote these classes nationwide. Meanwhile, we will enhance universities’ functions of supports for reemployment by enabling information on internship opportunities with collaboration of companies and offers of jobs easily consisted with childcare to be delivered from Mothers Hellowork to their universities. We will develop workers’ capacities harmonized with technological innovations and needs of industries, considering the fourth industrial revolution such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming necessary skills for workers while per-capita costs for educational training at private companies are on declining trend. We will enhance and visualize specialized education classes on skills, whose demands are expected to increase such as high-level IT area, and provide supports for taking these classes. Also, we will newly establish or enhance long-term training courses for displaced workers where they will be able to acquire skills with high demands for human resources such as IT, childcare and nursing care for the elderly. In order to cultivate human resources with practical occupational capacities from their school education periods, we will promote systematic career education ranging from the childhood to the high school period. Also, we will establish professional universities which will provide practical occupational education. We will fundamentally enhance and intensively support investment in human resources from companies, individuals and the government. (2) Promotion of Empowerment of Various Women There are lots of women with enormous potentialities in Japan and it is important for as to accelerate a process of building a society where every single woman can play an active role according to her own will. The Abe Cabinet has made efforts toward a “society where all women 24 shine” as its top priority issue such as establishing the Act on Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement in the Workplace which became effective in April, 2016. The number of female workers has increased by 1.5 million people in the last four years and the percentage of w omen who continue working after their childbirth has also been increasing recently. A momentum of empowerment of women is rapidly increasing. However, it is still essential for us to further promote empowerment of women for those who cannot work because of difficulties in balancing working with household affairs and those who work while being aware of employment adjustment. Therefore, we will promote visualization of information on company regarding empowerment of women and encourage their efforts on further empowerment of women. In particular, we will discuss necessary revision of institutions such as enhancement of a disclosure system of information under the Act on Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement in the Workplace by FY2018, in order to make companies surely disclose necessary information, which should be disclosed for empowerment of women, such as working hours, how male workers can take childcare leaves and the percentage of female executives. Also, we will create an environment where people who wish to work can work without being aware of employment adjustment. We will raise the upper limit on income eligible for the special spousal deduction under the income tax system from 1.03 million yen to 1.5 million yen. While focusing on younger generations and families with children, we will closely conduct a reform of taxation on personal income, discussing how we should position this taxation within the entire taxation system and how we should design the structure of burdens. We cannot enable people to work without being aware of employment adjustment just by taxation alone. We will smoothly realize expansion of the scope of employees’ insurance for part-time workers and discuss further expansion. Based on a result of the discussion, we will conduct necessary measures. An upper limit on income eligible for a spouse allowance of a company is another reason of employment adjustment. We will encourage companies to work on this issue positively through serious discussions between labor and management. We will steadily continue reforming dependence allowance for spouses of national public officers. 25 We will disclose information on companies equipped with systems enabling women, who were formerly regular employees and then quitted their jobs for childcare, to return to their jobs. In particular, we will add an item regarding the presence of a system for returners to a job posting form at Hello Work offices and to disclosed items defined within the Act on Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement. We will establish a subsidy which will support companies encouraging returning of their workers. We will spread best practices of work style reform, utilizing the certification systems such as “L-boshi” based on the Act on Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement, “Kurumin” based on the Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children and “Youth Yell” based on the Act on Employment Promotion of Young people. We will also utilize commendation systems of companies regarding career development of workers. (3) Supports for Empowerment of the “Employment Ice-age Generation” and Young People More than 400 thousand people graduated schools during the employment ice age, failed to become regular workers and had no choice but to keep on working as non-regular workers or remaining workless. We must conduct measures from the viewpoints of the employment ice-age generation, preventing entrenched inequality and ensuring workers. In order to promote job hoppers aged over 35, who repeatedly quit or switch their jobs, to regular workers, we will offer equal/balanced educational opportunities through enforcement of equal-pay-for-equal-work and provide intensive supports according to occupational experiences and capacities of different workers. We will help people who quitted high schools acquire high school diplomas through educational consultations and other supports. In addition, we will revise the guidelines based on the Act on Employment Promotion of Young people to promote various opportunities of screening and recruitment such as by introducing employment systems enabling workers to work in their preferred areas. Also, we will revise the Employment Security Act to enable Hellowork offices or intermediate agents to reject job posting fo rms from companies repeatedly violate certain labor-related laws. 26 7. Facilitation of a Balance between Medical Treatment and Work (1) Reforming Consciousness of Companies and Improving Acceptance Mechanism There are a number of people, approximately one-third of the workforce, who continue working while receiving medical treatments. There are also many people who are forced to leave their jobs because of diseases or face difficulties in balancing medical treatments and works because of lacks of understanding in their workplaces. We need to reform consciousness of companies and improve acceptance mechanisms in order to resolve this issue. We will encourage companies to reform consciousness of top managers and executives, and improve their in-company systems enabling their workers to balance medical treatments and works. Also, we will create disease-classified manuals for companies. In those disease-classified manuals on cancers, intractable diseases, vascular brain disease and hepatitis, we will describe points of concern when helping their workers balance medical treatments and works such as treatment measures and characteristics of their symptoms including feelings of fatigue, chronic pains and numbness. We will popularize those manuals by holding seminars for people in charge of human resource or labor affairs in companies. Furthermore, we will discuss requirements for payment of accident and sickness benefits and conduct necessary measures. In addition, we will energetically encourage top managers to show their own leaderships and clearly set maintenance and improvement of workers’ psychological and physical health as their business challenges. (2) Promotion of Triangle-shaped Supports The presence of others making expectations on people’s work enables them to find their raison d'etre and their own place within their workplace. It will also help them fight against disease. On the other hand, there are people who cannot tell others about their diseases, fearing of losing their careers. It is both physically and mentally hard to receive medical treatments without telling anyone about it. There are side effects, which can hardly be understood by anyone but a patient oneself, such as feelings of fatigue and symptoms of depression. People with these feelings or symptoms are often seen as unmotivated. There are some people who try harder beyond necessity, in order not to be seen as unmotivated, burst themselves and then leave their 27 workplaces. Considering this situation, we will pursue a society where people having diseases can work feeling motivations by improving mechanisms helping those people balance medical treatments and works. In particular, we will establish a triangle-shaped support system consisting of (i) attending doctors, (ii) companies and industrial doctors, and (iii) coordinators for supports of balancing medical treatments and works. Especially, supporting coordinators will play core roles within collaborations between attending doctors and companies, continuously provide consulting supports while snuggling up to patients and support formation of plans for balance between medical treatments and works. These coordinators are expected to acquire knowledge on medicine, psychology, labor-related laws and labor management and to function as hubs of communication among patients, attending doctors and companies. We will effectively cultivate and position these human resources and enable hospitals and workplaces across the nation to provide supports for balancing medical treatments and works. In addition, considering 4.7% of a million children are born as results of in vitro fertilizations, we will enhance supports for fertilization treatments not only from a medical aspect but also from the viewpoints of supp orts for employment and balancing treatments and works. (3) Enhancement of Industrial Doctors and Function of Occupational Safety to Ensure Workers’ Health Considering the importance of the role of industrial doctors, we will enhance industrial doctors and function of occupational safety by improving the abilities of industrial doctors and their function of consulting support. In order not to miss workers whose risks of death by overwork (karoshi) are high because of extremely long working hours and mental disorders, we will make sure that face-to-face instructions or health consultations will be offered by industrial doctors and enhance health management of workers in companies. In addition, we will review the present style of industrial doctors by enhancing independency and neutrality of them. By doing so, we will enable them to further effectively work on ensuring health of each worker from the viewpoint of medical specialists. We will encourage working people to enhance their own motivations 28 and limitlessly show their own talents. 8. Facilitation of a Balance between Childcare, Nursing Care and Work, Employment of Disabled People (1) Enhancement and Promotion of Supportive Measures for a Balance between Childcare, Nursing Care and Work Based on the “Plan to Accelerate the Elimination of Childcare Waiting Lists,” we have additionally prepared childcare arrangements for approximately 314,000 children in 3 years since FY2013 to FY2015. Also, we have raised the target for additional childcare arrangements from for 400,000 children to 500,000 children, which is to be accomplished by the end of FY2017. We will widely grasp the potential needs for childcare and prepare childcare arrangements for 530,000 children, which exceeds the initial goal, including arrangements of company-led childcare for approximately 50,000 children by the end of FY2017. We will establish a new plan from FY2018 onward, considering progress made in each local government from this April. Along with preparing childcare arrangements, we will ensure human resources, who become newly qualified as nursery teachers, and conduct comprehensive measures to ensure human resources such as improvement in their working conditions, supports for continuing working and supports for reemployment of those who have quitted their jobs. We will work on improving working conditions of nursery teachers by establishing a scheme of career advancement according to their skills and experiences. In the budget for FY2017, we will implement a pay rise equivalent to 2% for all the nursery teachers, which means we will have achieved a pay rise equivalent to 10% in total since the change of administration. In addition, we will improve their wages by 5,000 yen per month for those with more than 3 years of service, and by 40,000 yen per month for those with more than 7 years of service. We will increase childcare arrangements and promote flexible utilization according to the needs in order to enable nursery centers to provide various childcare services such as childcare for sick children, extended-hours childcare/temporary childcare and childcare for disabled children. In addition to childcare services, we will discuss measures to reduce burdens of childcare 29 and household affairs and to enable people to balance their works and childcare and household affairs. Also, from the viewpoint of enhancing supports for continuing working after childbirth, we will extend the qualification period of childcare leave benefits to 2 years old at maximum if workers cannot find suitable nursery schools. In addition, in order to break down the “barrier in the first year of primary schooling,” we will prepare arrangements of “After-school Kids’ Clubs” and improve working conditions of workers working there. Also, in regard to nursing care, it is crucial for us to conduct comprehensive measures, enhancing related supports and ensuring security of the generations still working, toward the goal of “no one forced to leave their jobs for nursing care,” which means people can work while providing nursing care. We will definitely prepare nursing care arrangements for more than 500,000 people by the early 2020s. In order to ensure human resources for nursing care, we will establish a scheme, which will realize wage increases for nursing care providers according to their experiences, in the budget for FY2017. In this scheme, we will improve their wages by 10,000 yen per month on average, which means we will have achieved wage increases of 47,000 yen per month on average in total since the establishment of the coalition government of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito. (Promotion of Male Participation in Childcare and Nursing Care) While women’s employment has been increasing in Japan, burdens of childcare or nursing care are still biased toward women. Also, even when men hope to take childcare leaves, they cannot actually do so for various reasons. Considering these situations, we will mobilize all the measures necessary to promote male participation in childcare and nursing care. From these viewpoints, we will enable workers to take childcare leaves more flexibly and for longer time as well as improve office atmospheres, which often make it harder for workers to take leaves. We will promptly start and conduct comprehensive revisions of our system of childcare leaves based on workers’ needs. In order to change office atmospheres, which make it harder for workers to take leaves despite of the presence of a system, we will introduce a scheme, which will encourage company owners to urge their workers to take 30 leaves, as well as a system of leaves dedicated to childcare to the Child Care and Family Care Leave Act. In addition, in order to increase “iku-boss,” bosses who are aware of the importance of childcare or nursing care of their subordinates or colleagues, we will prepare a collection of role models and popularize the “iku-boss” declarations. We will raise the accreditation criterion of“Kurumin” based on the Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children, with regard to childcare leaves taken by male workers. Also, in FY2017, we will discuss visualizing how male workers can take childcare leaves in each company, utilizing a scheme of general company owner action plans stipulated in the Act. We will discuss further promoting measures by FY2020, 5 years after the revision of the Act. (2) Supports for Employment Enabling Disabled People to Fulfill Their Hopes and Show Their Talents We need to build a society, where disabled people can play active roles according to characteristics of their disabilities while fulfilling their hopes, showing their talents and aptitudes and it is quite normal for us to work with disable people, by offering job opportunities according to motivations and abilities of disabled people beyond geographical or time restrictions. Although employment of disabled people has been improving recently, approximately 30% of companies obliged to hire disabled people actually do not hire them. We can still see some problems in understandings in workplaces including top managers and in improvement in job contents. Also, related ministries and agencies are required to further collaborate each other toward employment of disabled people. We will raise the statutory employment rate in April 2018. Also, we will encourage companies, which currently do not hire disabled people, to accept them as trainees and to attend seminars where they will acquire know - how on employment of disabled people. Additionally, we will introduce and dispatch retired people with knowledge on employment of disable people. In order to provide consistent supports, both from educational and labor aspects, with disabled people including those with developmental disorders or potentially having them, according to characteristics of their disorders, we will establish a scheme where education boards, universities, related agencies in the areas of welfare, healthcare, medicine and labor and 31 companies collaborate each other. Furthermore, in order to encourage disabled people to work at their own homes, we will promote utilization of a scheme where adjustment allowances are paid to companies submitting orders to disabled people working at their homes. We will promote utilization of ICT and provide supports for development of models of intermediate companies and visualization of good ones. Furthermore, we will popularize high-tech assistive devices in order to improve occupational lives of disabled people. We will provide employment supports for disabled people through collaboration between agriculture and welfare in all the prefectures, by promoting sixth sector industrialization in facilities for employment of disabled people working on agriculture. We will establish a discussion forum consisting of intellectuals to promote employment of disabled people according to characteristics of their disorders, to provide supports for job retention, and to discuss how we design related institutions. 9. Supports for Career Change or Reemployment Opportunities to Industries with the Capacity to Absorb a Large Amount of Employment and Create High Added Value In order to change the single-track career path and build a society where people can try again, we need to expand diverse employment opportunities outside of those offered to new graduates, such as those offered to people who changed their careers or seek to be reemployed. If we can establish flexible labor markets and corporate practices, where people become not disadvantaged by changing their careers, workers will able to choose work styles that fit them and design their careers by themselves. Companies will be able to promptly ensure human resources required in a business environment rapidly changing. These supports will increase the labor participation rate and productivity of the whole country. We will conduct necessary measures with a collaboration between public and private sectors. (1) Formulation of Guidelines and Supports for Companies Accepting Workers Changing Jobs and Expansion of Employment of Them Companies, which have even once accepted middle-aged workers changing their jobs, tend to become positive about hiring them. We will 32 comprehensively improve an environment by providing supports for companies accepting those workers and enhancing supportive systems. We will expand a subsidy device for capacity development and wage increase in growing companies accepting workers changing their jobs. Also, w e will establish a subsidy device for companies introducing personnel systems where workers will not be evaluated by their seniorities but by their capacities. We will enhance matching functions of the Employment Stabilization Center, cooperating with associations of SMEs. In order to expand diverse opportunities of employment regardless of ages, we will compile guidelines for promotion of acceptance of workers changing their jobs and request industries to act based on them. We will also establish guidebooks for internships opportunities for workers changing their jobs or seeking to reemployed, and provide supports for practical programs under the collaboration between companies and universities. (2) Visualization of Occupational Capacities and Information on Workplaces toward Expansion of Opportunities of Changing Jobs and Reemployment We will research and discuss how we should treat occupational information such as contents of various jobs including those in the growing areas like AI, required knowledge/capacities/technologies and average annual salaries. We will establish a website (Japanese version of O-NET), which will comprehensively offer these information including qualification-related ones. Also, we will establish a one-stop website where people will be able to browse information on women-friendly workplaces based on the Act on Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement in the Workplace as well as information on youth-friendly workplaces based on the Act on Employment Promotion of Young people, which have been provided separately. In addition, we will expand the scope of technical skills tests to professions in industries with the capacity to absorb a large amount of employment while exempting tuitions of young people. 10. Preparation of Education Providing Opportunities for All We will build a society where every child can have own hopes for the future and try hard toward own dreams, regardless of economic status. We must improve the quality of public education and improve an environment where everyone can attend a high school, a specialized training college and a 33 university, if one hopes to. Japan has ratified the International Covenants on Human Rights, which prescribes evolutionary realization of free higher education, and we will promote measures to ease economic burdens to encourage children to attend higher education while ensuring financial resources. We will also enhance an educational environment to ensure children’s academic skills from the period of compulsory education. We will newly establish a scholarship system under which students are exempted from having to repay the scholarship amount. This year, we will antecedently start this scheme for students facing economic difficulties, which are especially severe, such as those raised in children’s nursing homes or by foster parents. From next year, we will provide scholarships of from 20,000 yen to 40,000 yen per month with 20,000 students in each grade. In regard to interest-free scholarships, from this spring, we will substantively eliminate scholastic requirements imposed on children from low-income families to enable all the students, who are qualified to receive interest-free scholarships but remain not awarded yet, to receive without omission. In regard to refunding of loan-type scholarships, we will significantly reduce students’ burdens by introducing a type of scholarship with its amount of monthly payment linked to an applicant’s income after graduation. We will also enhance a system of reduced refund in order to reduce burdens of those who have already started refunding. In the budget for FY2017, we will further expand the scope of early- childhood education offered free of charge, enabling low-income families to receive free education for their second child, in addition to their third or later child. We will keep on gradually promoting free education for children while ensuring financial resources. Also, we will reduce burdens of educatio nal costs by providing educational supports through public and private institutions from the period of compulsory education, enhancing scholarships for high school students and enhancing exemption of tuitions of universities. 11. Promotion of Employment of the Elderly The key point of promotion of employment of the elderly is to realize an “ageless society,” where people can be fairly evaluated according to their occupational capacities regardless of their ages. This will also lead to increase in motivation of young people as well as dynamism of the entire company. 34 Although nearly 70% of the elderly wish to work beyond the age of 65, the proportion of the elderly who are beyond the age of 65 and still working remains as low as 20%. Since our population is declining and in order to ensure our growth potential, we must prepare various opportunities of employment for motivated elderly so that they can work regardless of their ages. We will provide supports for companies extending employment beyond the age of 65 or raising the retirement age to 65, and prepare an environment for raising the age for employment extension in the future. Setting the period until FY2020 as the period of intensive efforts, we will enhance subsidy devices while encouraging, providing consultations and supports for companies through popularizing manuals on methods of extending employment/raising the retirement age as well as related best practices. At the end of the period of intensive efforts, we will discuss how we should build a system to raise the age for employment extension. Another key is how we will build a scheme which will enable senior human resources with various skills and experiences to contribute not only to a single company but also to a wider society. In order to enable them to work regardless of their ages, we will promote career changes not only for the elderly but also for all people who hope to. We will enhance short-time jobs which can be applied by the elderly in Hellowork offices and visualize companies, where people can work while being fairly evaluated upon their works but regardless of their ages, in job posting forms. Also, with a collaboration between Hellowork offices and local economic associations, we will establish a nation-wide network for matching to enable people to work in local regions after U-turn, I-turn or J-turn. In addition, we will encourage people to accumulate and take inventories of their own skills and know-how, not after but before becoming the elderly. Also, we will promote career changes, reemployment, side jobs and multiple jobs. Furthermore, we will enhance subsidy devices for employment for elder entrepreneurs. We will also promote entrepreneurship within a scheme creating employment opportunities for the elderly, with a collaboration among various institutions in a region. While conducting measures to promote health and prevent frailty, we will offer various opportunities of employment, which include Silver Human Resources Centers and volunteer activities, according 35 to the needs of the elderly. 12. Acceptance of Foreign Workers We are in a global competitive economy and therefore it is crucial for us to improve productivity of the economy of the entire country by positively accept foreign workers with high-level skills and knowledge such as high- level IT workers and creating innovations. Foreign workers in Japan feel frustrated by its unclear evaluation systems and high Japanese linguistic requirements. We need to prepare an attractive environment for foreign workers to accept those working in specialized and technical areas, who contribute to vitalization of our economy. Therefore, we will promote clarification of job contents within companies and fair evaluation and working conditions in order to promote high-level foreign workers. Also, we will promote matching supports to enable companies to ensure high-level foreign workers, who will contribute to innovations, from abroad. We will prepare an environment where these workers can work well using English and lead daily lives comfortably. In addition, we will make our country appealing to high-level foreign workers, who are the focus of intense competition among countries seeking to attract them. We will introduce the Japanese Green Card for High-level Foreign Workers, which will be the fastest such system in the world and reduce the length of time required to obtain permanent residence from 5 years to 1 year, to enable those workers to play active roles in Japan for a longer time. Also, in order to enable foreigners to more easily utilize the “points- based preferential immigration treatment for highly-level workers,” we will add points to graduates from top universities as soon as possible. Meanwhile, in regard to the acceptance of foreign workers in fields that are not evaluated as specialized or technical, Japan has up held the position that this matter should be reviewed not only by assessing the needs and verifying the economic effects, but also from a broad perspective that encompasses a range of factors such as influence on the employment of Japanese workers, impact on industrial structure, social costs such as education and social security, and public order, while taking into account the consensus of the people. In order to ensure sustainability of our economic and social foundations, we will comprehensively and concretely discuss how we should 36 accept foreign workers while focusing on areas truly requiring those workers. The government will research and discuss necessary measures, across ministries, to establish a scheme, which cannot be misunderstood as an immigration policy, and to form the consensus of the people. 13. Roadmap toward the Future of 10 Years from Now Toward the realization of work style reform, it is important for us to promote related measures, deciding when to take what kind of specific measures with respect to each topic with concrete deadlines and consistently reviewing them. (Measures with Timelines and Indexes) In regard to the 19 measures in total, we indicate (1) the issues from the perspective of the working people, (2) the directions of upcoming measures and (3) concrete measures for each theme. Since work style reform is a cross- sectional issue toward the realization of dynamic engagement of all citizens, we set the time span of the roadmaps as from FY2017 to FY2026 (10 years). We indicate how we will conduct necessary measures in each fiscal year while showing related indexes as much as possible. (Collaboration with Other Government Programs) In order to effectively implement the roadmaps, we will promote necessary measures while collaborating with the Japan’s Plan for Dynamic Engagement of All Citizens and other government programs. 37 Problems viewed from workers Subjects to be studied and their current states Measures It is desirable that people can work 1. Improving the treatment of non-regular employees (1) Developing legal systems and guidelines for • Ability development chance given to other than regular actively while understanding the employees keeping the effectiveness of equal pay for equal jobs results of evaluating their works and Planned OJT: 30.2% (58.9% for regular employees) Off-JT: 36.6% (72.0% for regular employees) abilities. • Unwilling non-regular employees: 2.96 million (15.6%) (2) Promoting career enhancement including change • “When working with the same treatment as regular employees, I am required to from non-regular employees to regular ones show the same working results. I make 2. Raising wages and labor productivity efforts to fulfill my duties.” (woman in a • Average rise in wage: 1.70% in 2010-2012 → (3) Building an environment in which companies can increase company realizing equal pay for equal jobs) 1.71% in 2013 → 2.07% in 2014 → 2.20% in 2015 wages easily, for example by encouraging them to do so or “Efforts give me equivalent wages. I try to helping them improve their dealing conditions and productivity → 2.00% in 2016 make efforts.” (woman who becomes a regular employee via a part-timer and (4) Changing laws to introduce an upper overtime limit fixed-term worker) 3. Avoiding long-hour work Improving treatment (e.g. wages) men in their thirties) (5) Building an environment to introduce the work interval system • Business sites that sign the 36 agreement with a specially prolonged time of more than 80 hours: 4.8% (14.6% for large companies) • The reason for needing overtime is “It is necessary to (6) Building a healthy and friendly workplace environment respond to irregular requests from customers.” 44.5% (highest) (7) Supporting the reform and introduction of the telework guidelines for employees It is desirable that people can work healthily 4. Building an environment in which flexible work and flexibly with their work life balance kept. styles are possible (8) Reforming the telework guidelines for unemployed • Companies that introduce no telework: 83.8% • The reason why young people change jobs is “I • Domestic crowdsourcing market want to move to a company with reasonable 21.5 billionyen in 2013 → 40.8 billion yenin 2014 →65.0billion yen workers and supporting them working hours, holidays, and leaves.” 37.1% in in 2015 2009 → 40.6% in 2013 • Companies that allow no side work: 85.3% (9) Building an environment, for example by developing guidelines • I like telework. 30.1% for promoting side or multiple jobs and modifying the typical work • Employees hoping a side job: About 3.68 million regulations 5. Promoting work with disease cure, child raising, or It is desirable that people can work nursing care and encouraging the handicapped to smoothly with disease cure, child raising, or work (10) Promoting triangle support toward work with nursing care. • People unemployed after cancer detection: 29% • Diseased people who want a job: 92.5% • Women who want to continue working after pregnancy or cure • Women who want to continue working after childbirth but retire due to difficulty in work with child raising: 25.2% childbirth: 65.1% • Business sites with employees using nursing-care leave: (11) Improving measures for supporting work with child • Workers who quit a job for nursing care: 1.3% 100,000/year • Companies that are obliged to employ the handicapped raising or nursing care and promoting the use of them but do not do so: About 30% Eliminating restrictions (e.g. time and place) (12) Helping the handicapped have a desired job and use their capabilities 6. Accepting foreign human resources (13) Building an environment to accept foreign human resources It is desirable that people can choose a 7. Building an environment that makes it easy for women and young people to work actively (14) Helping women take a reeducation (recurrent variety of jobs, depending on changes in life • Regular female employees reemployed after marriage retirement education) and enriching job training Achievement of work-style reforms style or stage. Regular: 12%; Non-regular: 88% • “People can restart any time or from any • Companies with a reinstatement system for retired employees: 12% situation. I get many things from child raising • Unemployed persons (in late thirties to early forties) in the generation (15) Encouraging women to work variously, for example, by experience, so I apply them to the current facing difficulty in finding a job + People not in labor force: 420,000 allowing part-timers to work without an adjustment and workplace.” (woman reemployed via a housewife • Young people (15-34 years old) unemployed: 570,000 unemployed women to return to their former posts and recurrent education) • Workers who want reeducation: 49.4% (16) Helping the generation facing difficulty in finding a job and • More than 65-year-old people who want to 8. Supporting transfer to industries with a high employment rate, developing human resources, and young people work actively to build such an environment work: 65.9% strengthening education for fixed gap prevention • Corporate eagerness to employ persons of middle or It is desirable that people can get advanced age (17) Developing guidelines for increasing chances to be given to those who educations as their desire regardless of their Companies with employment records: 66.1% want transfer or reemployment, helping companies receive them, and Building careers family’s economic status Companies with no record: 34.9% visualizing working skills and workplace information • Ratio of students who go on to a 4-year college • Adult students: 2.5% (OECD: 16.7% in average) after graduation from a high school • Student’s monthly living cost in average Students who go to a national university from home: 94,000 (18) Building an educational environment in which anyone has a Parents earning 4 million yen or less yen; Students who go to a private university from a lodging: annually: 31.4% 173,000 yen chance to learn, for example by starting a beneficial scholarship Parents earning more than 10 million yen annually: 62.4% 9. Encouraging the aged to find a job (19) Supporting the extension of employment or • Employees not less than 65 years old: 22.3% retirement and giving matching support to the aged Item 1. Improving the treatment of non-regular employees (1) Developing legal systems and guidelines for keeping the effectiveness of equal pay for equal jobs (Part 1) [Problems viewed from workers] [Future course of action] In 2015, regular employees increased for the We will make rules for equal pay for equal jobs in order to eliminate the irrational gap in treatment between regular first time in 8 years. and non-regular employees, to allow workers to receive satisfactory treatment regardless of the selection of any • The rise is 770,000 in total in 2015 and 2016. • Non-regular employees (the value in parentheses shows employment type, to enable them to choose a variety of work styles freely, and to wipe out the word “non-regular” the ratio to the whole employees except directors) from the country. 6.04 million (15.3%) in 1984 → 16.78 million in 2006 (33.0%) → 20.16 million (37.5%) in 2016 [Concrete measures] For example, many women select non- (Making rules for equal pay for equal jobs) regular employment after they exceed their middle thirties because they have to raise • We will promote the fair evaluation and treatment determination of regular employees, part-timers, fixed-time children or take nursing care. workers, and dispatched workers according to their duties, working results, capacities, and experience to allow • Unwilling non-regular employees: 2.96 million (average them to display their performances effectively and to clarify important philosophies including contribution to in 2016) (The ratio to the whole non-regular employees is economic and social development. Meanwhile, we will modify laws to guarantee the effectiveness of proposed 15.6%) guidelines and to define grounds for rescuing the workers in court (judicial ruling). Women: 17.6% in 25-34 years old; 11.7% in 35-44 • To put it concretely, we plan to alter the Part-Time Employment, Labor Contract, and Worker Dispatch Acts as years old; 12.5% in 45-54 years old; 9.3% in 55-64 years old follows: • Ratio of women who select non-regular employment (1) Defining grounds to be used by workers requiring judicial ruling due to work with household affairs or childcare (average in 2016) • We will modify the acts so that fixed-time workers can make a request for equal treatment. 25.0% in 25-34 years old; 26.8% in 35-44 years old; • We will modify the acts so that dispatched workers make a request for the same treatment as workers at the 17.4% in 45-54 years old; 11.7% in 55-64 years old destination workplace or for equal treatment. I want to work actively while understanding the results of evaluating my work and ability. • We will clarify equal treatment rules for all workers including part-timers. • Voices from women in a company realizing equal pay (2) Obligation to give workers a description of their treatment for equal jobs • Companies are obliged to give fixed-time workers a description of their treatment when the former employs the “When working with the same treatment as regular employees, I am required to show the same working latter. results. I make efforts to fulfill my duties.” (meeting • After employment, companies are obliged to tell part-timers, fixe-time workers, or dispatched workers the where the prime minister talks with workers about work-style reforms on December 6, 2016) reason for differences in treatment from other workers to be compared when the former receives such a request from the latter. FY 2027 or Measures 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Indicators later Submitting bills to the parliament Making Enforcing the Making a review at the appropriate time according to preparations modified acts 5 years after the enforcement Ratio of unwilling non- the action regular employees: Modifying laws plan 15.6% in 2016 for equal pay for → Less than 10% in equal jobs 2020 Building a consultation Starting ADR and a Reviewing the measures for improving the treatment of non-regular employees system for companies consultation center as necessary in consideration of the progress of enforcing the acts Item 1. Improving the treatment of non-regular employees (1) Developing legal systems and guidelines for keeping the effectiveness of equal pay for equal jobs (Part 2) [Problems viewed from workers] [Concrete measures] In 2015, regular employees increased for the (Modifying laws for equal pay for equal jobs) first time in 8 years. (3) Making administrative procedures for making an alternative dispute resolution • The rise is 770,000 in total in 2015 and 2016. • When workers bring a legal action for correcting unfair treatment, an economic load is put on them. We will • Non-regular employees (the value in parentheses shows the ratio to the whole employees except directors) prepare how to make an alternative dispute resolution (administrative ADR) to allow the workers to take such an 6.04 million (15.3%) in 1984 → 16.78 million in 2006 action free of charge. (33.0%) → 20.16 million (37.5%) in 2016 (4) Preparing laws for dispatched workers • In order for companies dispatching workers to fulfill obligation to give the latter the same treatment as other For example, many women select non- workers at the destination workplace, we will make rules for obliging the receiver to provide the sender with regular employment after they exceed their middle thirties because they have to raise information about treatment including wages and to take dispatch fees into consideration. children or take nursing care. • Dispatched workers are in an unstable condition if change in workplace causes change in wage level. As a result, • Unwilling non-regular employees: 2.96 million (average it is inconsistent with sender’s support to career enhancement including step-by-step and systematic training. To in 2016) avoid this problem and protect such workers, we will allow them to make a management-labor agreement on (The ratio to the whole non-regular employees is the following 3 requirements rather than to make a request for the same treatment as other workers at the 15.6%) Women: 17.6% in 25-34 years old; 11.7% in 35-44 destination workplace. Even in that case, the employer is required not only to sign such an agreement but also years old; 12.5% in 45-54 years old; 9.3% in 55-64 to meet the 3 requirements actually. years old <1> Specify wages equal to or higher than those given to ordinary workers having the same job. • Ratio of women who select non-regular employment <2> Correctly evaluate the ability of dispatched workers with their career formation in mind to reflect the due to work with household affairs or childcare (average in 2016) results in their wages. 25.0% in 25-34 years old; 26.8% in 35-44 years old; <3> Do not give the dispatched irrational treatment when comparing with regular workers employed by the 17.4% in 45-54 years old; 11.7% in 55-64 years old sender. I want to work actively while understanding the results of evaluating my work and ability. (Before the modified acts are enforced) • Voices from women in a company realizing equal pay • The modified acts have a significant effect on activities conducted by companies, particularly small- to medium- for equal jobs sized ones. Before the enforcement, we will have the sufficient preparation period to let the companies know the “When working with the same treatment as regular employees, I am required to show the same working modifications well. results. I make efforts to fulfill my duties.” (meeting • We will hold a meeting, provide information, and start a consultation canter to make a painstaking response to where the prime minister talks with workers about work-style reforms on December 6, 2016) inquiries about legal equal pay for equal jobs from small-to medium-sized companies. Moreover, we will deliver a seminar to describe how to improve the treatment of non-regular employees and build a consultation system to help small- to medium-sized companies based in local areas review their work regulations and meet the technical requirements. FY 2027 or Measures 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Indicators later Submitting bills to the Making Enforcing the Making a review at the appropriate time Ratio of unwilling non- parliament 5 years after the enforcement regular employees: according to preparations modified acts Modifying laws 15.6% in 2016 the action plan for equal pay for → Less than 10% in 2020 equal jobs Building a consultation Starting ADR and a Reviewing the measures for improving the treatment of non-regular employees system for companies consultation center as necessary in consideration of the progress of enforcing the acts Item 1. Improving the treatment of non-regular employees (1) Developing legal systems and guidelines for keeping the effectiveness of equal pay for equal jobs (Part 3) [Problems viewed from workers] [Concrete measures] In 2015, regular employees increased for the first (Improving the treatment of part-time government officials) time in 8 years. • The rise is 770,000 in total in 2015 and 2016. • In FY 2017, we will start to pay a year-end allowance to part-time government officials who work for • Non-regular employees (the value in parentheses shows the ratio prefectural labor bureaus including public employment security offices. Moreover, we will continue to to the whole employees except directors) 6.04 million (15.3%) in 1984 → 16.78 million in 2006 (33.0%) → investigate their working conditions and work on their treatment in consideration of private activities for 20.16 million (37.5%) in 2016 equal pay for equal jobs . For example, many women select non-regular employment after they exceed their middle (Employing part-time local government officials and improving their treatment) thirties because they have to raise children or take • We will make necessary legal changes in order to build a part-time staff system, to make appointments and nursing care. • Unwilling non-regular employees: 2.96 million (average in 2016) services correct, and to pay a year-end allowance. Moreover, we will encourage local governments to ensure (The ratio to the whole non-regular employees is 15.6%) correct appointments and good work conditions according to the new system and in consideration of private Women: 17.6% in 25-34 years old; 11.7% in 35-44 years old; trends, systems related to government officials, the progress of them, and serious financial problems the 12.5% in 45-54 years old; 9.3% in 55-64 years old • Ratio of women who select non-regular employment due to work governments face. with household affairs or childcare (average in 2016) 25.0% in 25-34 years old; 26.8% in 35-44 years old; 17.4% in 45- 54 years old; 11.7% in 55-64 years old I want to work actively while understanding the results of evaluating my work and ability. • Voices from women in a company realizing equal pay for equal jobs “When working with the same treatment as regular employees, I am required to show the same working results. I make efforts to fulfill my duties.” (meeting where the prime minister talks with workers about work-style reforms on December 6, 2016) FY 2027 or Measures 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Indicators later Improving the treatment Study with related Working on how to treat part-time staff in consideration of private activities for equal pay for equal jobs, making further stud y of part-time government ministries and officials agencies if necessary, and implementing the treatment step by step Ratio of unwilling non- Notice, manual, regular employees: Ensuring the correct and meeting 15.6% in 2016 appointments and Encouraging local governments to ensure correct appointments and good work conditions according to the new → Less than 10% in work conditions of Technical advice system and in consideration of private trends, systems related to government officials, the progress of them, and 2020 part-time local serious financial problems the governments face government officials Making preparations for enforcement on a group basis (e.g. system design, regulations, system improvement, Modifying laws and appointment change) Item 1. Improving the treatment of non-regular employees (2) Promoting career enhancement including change from non-regular employees to regular ones [Problems viewed from workers] [Future course of a ction] In 2015, regular employees increased for the first Abenomics has i ncreased regular employees for the first ti me i n 8 yea rs and s howed a year-on-year reducti on i n time in 8 years. the ra tio of unwilling non-regular employees—the employment environment of non-regular employees is • The rise is 770,000 in total in 2015 and 2016. i mproved. Next, we will eliminate the irra tional gap in treatment between regular a nd non-regular employees as • Non-regular employees (the value in parentheses shows the ratio to the whole employees except directors) wel l a s change the unwilling latter to the former to i mprove the treatment of non -regular employees. 6.04 million (15.3%) in 1984 → 16.78 million in 2006 (33.0%) → 20.16 million (37.5%) in 2016 [Concrete measures] • Unwilling non-regular employees: 2.96 million (average in 2016) (Gi vi ng support to companies that aim to i mprove the treatment of non -regular employees i ncluding the (The ratio to the whole non-regular employees is 15.6%) a chi evement of equal pay for equal jobs) • We wi l l help the companies change non-regular employees to regular ones, increase wages, and give the The rule for changing to an indefinite-term s a me treatment to regular a nd non-regular workers by using career enhancement s ubsidies as i ncentives to contract will start to apply fully in April 2018 in trea tment i mprovement and building a gra nt-in-aid s ystem for firms that make efforts to build a n a llowance accordance with the Labor Contract Act, but each s ys tem common to regular a nd non-regular employees. company does not know its purpose. • About 40% of companies say they do not know the rule. (Appl yi ng the rule for changing to a n i ndefinite-term contra ct smoothly i n accordance with the La bor Contract Act) • Of companies that know the rule, more than 20% have no • The rul e will start to a pply fully i n 2018. Therefore, we will l et companies know the rule well by holding a policy of observing the rule and 6% suggest operation within 5 s ymposium a nd seminar, gi ve i ntroduction s upport (e.g. the development of typical work regulations), a nd years in total. i ntroduce licensed s ocial insurance consultants. I want to work actively while understanding the (Expa nding the s cope of employee insurance ) results of evaluating my work and ability. • We wi l l build a n environment i n which those who want to work can do i t easily, expand the s cope of • Voice from a woman who becomes a regular employee via a empl oyee i nsurance to part-timers to i mprove their treatment, work on the further expansion until part-timer and fixed-term worker September 2019, a nd ta ke measures based on the results. “Efforts give me equivalent wages. I try to make efforts.” (meeting where the prime minister talks with workers about work-style reforms on December 6, 2016) FY 2027 or 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Indicators Measures later Helping companies improve the Reviewing measures for improving the treatment of non-regular employees as necessary in treatment of non- Giving the companies subsidies consideration of the act enforcing progress Ratio of unwilling non- regular employees regular employees: 15.6% in 2016 Applying the rule Letting → Less than 10% in 2020 companies for changing to know the rule an indefinite- and giving them Reviewing the rule as necessary according to regulations to be investigated and in About 40% of companies introduction and Applying the rule fully consideration of the enforcing progress do not know the rule → term contract consultation smoothly support 100% knows it. Environment in which Expanding the those who want to work scope of Working on the further can do it easily employee Taking necessary measures based on the study results expansion insurance Item 2. Raising wages and labor productivity (3) Building an environment in which companies can increase wages easily, for example by encouraging them to do so or helping them improve their dealing conditions and productivity (Part 1) [Problems viewed from workers] [Future course of action] In the present century, wages have increased at the The 3 key measures of Abenomics bail Japan out of deflation, which makes it possible for companies to highest level for the 3rd consecutive year. We need to keep this trend securely. get the highest profit in the past. We will increase the gross income of employers by reflecting the highest • Wage rise ratios obtained by spring labor-management profit in a rise in wage continuously, increasing the labor’s relative share that tends to decrease in recent talks (shown by the JTUC-Rengo) years, and making the good economic circulation more certain. In addition, we aim at a minimum wage 2010-2012: 1.70% in average 2013: 1.71% rise of about 3% per year with the growth rate of nominal GDP in mind to attain an hourly wage of 1,000 2014: 2.07% yen in nationwide weighted average. To build an environment in which it is easy to increase wages, we 2015: 2.20% 2016: 2.00% will improve the dealing conditions of small- to medium-sized companies including subcontractors and • Rise in minimum wage (nationwide) help them increase wages and productivity. 2013: 15 yen 2014: 16 yen 2015: 18 yen [Concrete measures] 2016: 25 yen (Increasing minimum wages) We have to stop a reduction in labor’s relative • In 2016, the minimum wage increased by 25 yen in nationwide weighted average. We continuously share and move profits from large companies to small- to medium-sized companies. aim at a minimum wage rise of about 3% per year with the growth rate of nominal GDP in mind to • Labor’s relative share attain an hourly wage of 1,000 yen in nationwide weighted average. (FY 2014) S-to-M companies: 77.6%; L companies: 59.6%  (FY 2015) (Supporting a rise in minimum wage) S-to-M companies 77.1%; L companies: 57.7% • To increase minimum wages, we will strengthen the grant-in-aid system by giving subsidies for A rise in wage requires productivity improvement. equipment to small- to medium-sized companies that will make a capital investment in order to • Comparison of labor productivity (per hour) in 2015 Japan: 42.1 dollars improve the productivity and to increase the lowest wage on their premises by a certain value. USA: 68.3 dollars Germany: 65.5 dollars FY 2027 or 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Indicators Measures later Increasing Aiming at a minimum wage rise of about 3% per year with the growth rate of nominal Increasing minimum minimum wages GDP in mind to attain an hourly wage of 1,000 yen in nationwide weighted average waves continuously Expanding Supporting a rise the grant- Continuous verification in minimum in-aid Verification and review based on the PDCA cycle and review wage system Item 2. Raising wages and labor productivity (3) Building an environment in which companies can increase wages easily, for example by encouraging them to do so or helping them improve their dealing conditions and productivity (Part 2) [Concrete measures] [Problems viewed from workers] (Supporting a rise in wage and productivity) In the present century, wages have increased at the • We will modify the Employment Insurance Act in order to add “Support the realization of productivity highest level for the 3rd consecutive year. We need improvement” to the philosophy of employment-related subsidies and to introduce a preferential grant- to keep this trend securely. in-aid system for companies that meet productivity improvement requirements. To check whether to • Wage rise ratios obtained by spring labor-management meet the requirements, we will prepare a mechanism of using information about business assessments talks (shown by the JTUC-Rengo) made by local financial institutions. Moreover, we will review the system at the right time while 2010-2012: 1.70% in average promoting corporate capital investments in improving the working environment and evaluating how to 2013: 1.71% use subsidies according to the productivity improvement results. 2014: 2.07% 2015: 2.20% • We will start another grant-in-aid system for companies that build personnel evaluation and wage 2016: 2.00% systems in order to improve the productivity, to increase the wages of employees, and to reduce the • Rise in minimum wage (nationwide) turnover. Next, in the tax system for income expansion (tax deduction is given to companies that increase 2013: 15 yen wages), we will strengthen support to small- to medium-sized companies. Finally, we will let them know 2014: 16 yen theses systems well. 2015: 18 yen 2016: 25 yen (Improving the dealing conditions of small- to medium-sized companies including subcontractors) We have to stop a reduction in labor’s relative • We will improve the dealing conditions so that large companies reflect their increasing profits in small- to share and move profits from large companies to medium-sized companies working as a subcontractor all over the country. To do so, the government will small- to medium-sized companies. let the companies understand the reinforced relevant law (drastic change in the operating standards of • Labor’s relative share the Subcontractors Act for the first time in 13 years and the review of the notice for paying subcontract (FY 2014) money for the first time in 50 years). Moreover, we (1) build a consultation system for supporting the S-to-M companies: 77.6%; L companies: 59.6% price negotiation ability of subcontractors and let them understand know-how and handbooks as well as  (FY 2015) (2) make the subcontract guidelines popular and review the expansion and detail of applicable business S-to-M companies 77.1%; L companies: 57.7% types. A rise in wage requires productivity improvement. • We will require the industrial world to soundly take measures based on a voluntary action plan. To make a • Comparison of labor productivity (per hour) in 2015 follow-up survey, the government will deploy subcontract (dealing) investigators all over the country to Japan: 42.1 dollars give a hearing more than 2,000 times per year and to grasp the improvement status. If finding a problem, USA: 68.3 dollars we will plan and take necessary measures, for example by making a request for reviewing the action plan. Germany: 65.5 dollars FY 2027 or 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Indicators Measures later Increasing subsidies according to Verification and review based on the PDCA cycle productivity Making support requirements robust for a rise in wage and Starting a grant- in-aid system Verification and review based on the PDCA cycle Support to be given productivity to companies that Improving the tax system for S-to-M use a variety of grant- companies to increase Verification and review based on the PDCA cycle incomes in-aid systems to increase wages Improving Promoting the 年度 the reinforced dealing conditions relevant law of S-to-M companies Strengthening Planning and taking necessary measures according to the results of a follow-up survey to improve the dealing conditions including the follow-up subcontractors system Item 3. Avoiding long-hour work (4) Changing laws to introduce an overtime limit (Part 1) [Problems viewed from workers] [Future course of action] Japan has more long-hour workers than We will introduce overtime control with a penalty to avoid work beyond the so -called 36 agreement and promote the review of Europe and the US, resulting in the corporate cultures and dealing practices to prevent long-hour work. These measures will increase labor participation and difficulty of a career consistent with home. productivity, keep workers healthy, improve the work life balance, and change the society that recommends long -hour work. • Ratio of employees who work for more than 49 [Concrete measures] hours per week: Japan: 21.3%; US: 16.6%; GB: 12.5%; France: 10.4%; Germany: 10.1% (2014) (Overtime limit control) • Ratio of employees who work for more than 60 hours per week: Government’s target: not more • We will change the overtime limit from 40 hours per week to 45 hours per month and 360 hours per year. If a company will than 5% in 2020; Result: 7.7% (14.7% for men in violate it, we will impose a penalty except for the following examples: their thirties) in 2016 • Ratio of business sites at which the overtime is set • Companies may extend the overtime limit to up to 720 hours per year (60 hours per month), provided that they have a at more than 80 hours as per the special provision temporary and special reason as well as conclude a labor-management agreement. of the 36 agreement • If office work increases temporarily, companies may set the upper limit at a value smaller than 720 hours per year. 4.8% (large companies: 14.6%) in 2013 • Provided that • Business sites subjected to supervision because the (1) This limit shall not exceed 80 hours including working time on holidays as the average over 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 months . monthly overtime exceeds 80 hours (2) In a single month, it shall not exceed 100 hours including working time on holidays. About 20,000 (estimation in 2016) (3) In view of the principle of 45 hours per month and 360 hours per year, the exception may apply up to 6 times per year not • The results of giving supervision and guidance to to exceed the latter limit half a year. 10,059 business sites from April to September 2016 show that 4,416 sites (43.9%) oblige illegal overtime • In view of labor-management efforts to avoid an agreement on the upper limit and in order to shorten prolonged working work and of them, 3,450 sites (34.3%) have an time to a possible extent, we will add a provision for defining guidelines to the Labor Standards Act to allow the government overtime of more than 80 hours per month. agency to give necessary advice and guidance to employers and labor unions in accordance with the guidelines. • Reason why young workers change jobs: “I want to • To prevent sudden change from putting an adverse effect on small- to medium-sized companies, we will set the enough move to a company with reasonable working hours, preparation time until the enforcement of the act. holidays and leaves.” • When 5 years will pass after the enforcement, the government shall check the provision execution status and review the 2009: 37.1% → 2013: 40.6% provision according to the results if necessary. FY 2027 or 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Indicators Measures later Submitting a proposal for modifying the Labor Overtime target: Up to Controlling the Preparations for Making a review at the appropriate Standards Step-by-step enforcement after a PR period 45 hours per month and overtime limit enforcement time 5 years after the enforcement up to 360 hours per year Act according to the action plan to the parliament Item 3. Avoiding long-hour work (4) Changing laws to introduce an overtime limit (Part 2) [Problems viewed from workers] [Concrete measures] Japan has more long-hour workers than (Overtime limit control) Europe and the US, resulting in the • For car driving duties, rather than exempting them from the overtime control with a penalty, we will apply difficulty of a career consistent with home. up to 960 hours per year (80 hours a month) as an overtime limit 5 years after the enforcement date of the • Ratio of employees who work for more than 49 modified act and add a provision to the effect that the general provision shall apply in the future. Toward hours per week: Japan: 21.3%; US: 16.6%; GB: 12.5%; France: 10.4%; Germany: 10.1% (2014) the enforcement after 5 years, we will strongly promote the construction of an environment in which long- • Ratio of employees who work for more than 60 hour work will be avoidable, for example by letting related parties including cargo owners hold a conference hours per week: Government’s target: not more to work on how to shorten the working time. than 5% in 2020; Result: 7.7% (14.7% for men in • For construction business, rather than exempting it from the overtime control with a penalty, we will apply their thirties) in 2016 the general provision defining the overtime control 5 years after the enforcement date of the modified act. • Ratio of business sites at which the overtime is set at more than 80 hours as per the special provision Note that up to 100 hours in a single month and up to 80 hours in average over 2 to 6 months do not apply of the 36 agreement to recovery or reconstruction. Besides, we will add a provision to the effect that the general provision shall 4.8% (large companies: 14.6%) in 2013 apply in the future. Toward the enforcement after 5 years, we will promote the reinforcement of activities • Business sites subjected to supervision because the for shortening the working time step by step while receiving understanding and cooperation from clients. monthly overtime exceeds 80 hours • Concerning physicians, we will apply the control 5 years after the enforcement date of the modified act and About 20,000 (estimation in 2016) hold a workshop in which medical world will participate to aim to realize high-quality and new medical care • The results of giving supervision and guidance to 10,059 business sites from April to September 2016 as well as new work styles in hospital. Until 2 years after, we will work on the concrete way that the control show that 4,416 sites (43.9%) oblige illegal overtime should be and measures for shortening the working time, and come to certain conclusions. work and of them, 3,450 sites (34.3%) have an • The R&D of new technologies or products is a special task because the members need expertise, scientific overtime of more than 80 hours per month. knowledge, and skills. Accordingly, we will define exceptions clearly to the extent that they will not be • Reason why young workers change jobs: “I want to move to a company with reasonable working hours, beyond the scope of the current system on the premise that effective health keeping measures will be holidays and leaves.” taken, such as a physician’s interview and guidance as well as compensatory leaves. 2009: 37.1% → 2013: 40.6% FY 2027 or 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Indicators Measures later Submitting a proposal for modifying the Labor Preparations for Review at the appropriate time 5 Overtime target: Up to Controlling the Standards enforcement Step-by-step enforcement after a PR period 45 hours per month and overtime limit years after the enforcement up to 360 hours per year Act according to the action plan to the parliament Item 3. Avoiding long-hour work (4) Changing laws to introduce an overtime limit (Part 3) [Problems viewed from workers] [Concrete measures] (Activities for avoiding long-hour work on a business type basis) Automobile carriers suffer from the  The following shows activities in the automobile carrying business. shortage of drivers, so a heavy load is put (1) We will hold a workshop in which related ministries and agencies will participate to draw up and implement an action plan, which will on them. include improving productivity with IT, reviewing related laws to build an environment in which long-hour work is avoidable by preparing or developing a variety of human resources, and taking support measures. In the construction industry, dealings with (2) We will promote ICT, distribution, and productivity revolutions through a demonstrative test and social implementation of moveme nt services with an automatic and driver-fee run as well as of driving multiple trucks in series. clients cause long-hour work. Therefore, it  The following indicates activities in the trucking business. is necessary to improve the industry-wide (1) We will hold a conference, the members of which will include trucking companies, cargo owners, related groups, and competent environment including related parties. ministries and agencies, to develop guidelines from 2017 to 2018 in consideration of demonstrative projects in operation.  Annual working time on an industry basis (2016) (2) We will cooperate with related ministries and agencies in taking (1) measures for making the dealing conditions correct including contracts with subcontractors, (2) measures for improving the productivity, for example by shortening the working time as a result of Transportation: 2,054 hours assigning a delivery route to multiple drivers, and (3) necessary measures and support for shortening the cargo waiting time in Construction: 2,056 hours cooperation with cargo owners.  The following shows activities in the construction industry. Compared with cargo owners, trucking (1) Cooperation with clients including private companies is indispensable to specifying the work period properly, ensuring reasonable wage companies are in a weak position, so the levels, and promoting a 5-day workweek including no work on a holiday. Therefore, we will set up a conference that consists of clients and related persons, build an environment necessary to running the overtime control including institutional action, and help the latter is obliged to await a cargo for a long industrial world conduct activities. time. (2) We will carry on productivity improvement by conducting activities not only for keeping and training engineers and skillful work ers but • The mean cargo waiting time per truck is 1 hours also for building a system that encourage them to work actively, promoting i-Construction to level work periods and to use ICT fully, and 45 minutes (FY 2015). simplifying documents, and giving support to small- to medium-sized companies. FY 2027 or 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Indicators Measures later [Automobile Reviewing related systems and giving Making an action plan support according to the plan Letting related parties promote and deepen activities carrying business] Demonstrating various types of Making preparations for Expanding the service area commercialization in the private automatic runs with no driver sector Promoting automobile ICT, distribution, and productivity revolutions further [Trucking business] Holding a conference with cargo owners, running pilot projects, and developing and Helping trucking companies work with cargo owners by promoting and popularizing the guidelines, making a regular follow-up survey, and improving dealing conditions promoting guidelines In the conference consisting of cargo owners and related Legal framework in Activities for avoiding government organs, working on measures necessary to Letting related parties promote and deepen activities which overtime work cooperation with cargo owners in shortening the waiting time long-hour work on a business type basis Working on and taking productivity improvement measures including the is controlled in promotion of relay transport business types and duties to which no [Construction Working on and promoting measures for building an environment for setting the work law applies currently industry] period properly Setting the work period properly and increasing holidays including a 5 -day workweek • Conference having constructors and clients • Activities for improving dealing conditions • Typical work based on a 5-day workweek • Leveling work periods, promoting ICT earthwork, increasing work types using ICT (i-Construction), and simplifying documents Promoting the activities further • Working on and conducting activities for keeping, training, and using engineers efficiently Item 3. Avoiding long-hour work (4) Changing laws to introduce an overtime limit (Part 4) [Problems viewed from workers] [Concrete measures] • Annual working time on an industry basis (Activities for avoiding long-hour work on a business type basis) (2016) • In the information service (IT) industry, the government will cooperate with the private sector to grasp the actual Info-communication: 1,955 hours state and promote improvement measures. The former will prompt the industrial group to reform work styles by supporting the achievement of goals, such as a mean overtime of up to 1 hour per day and a telework share of at least 50%. We work on how to ensure health through the collection of good examples of using the latest technologies including wearable terminals. (Other modifications) • We have to build a legal labor system in which we help individuals who work creatively and autonomously maximize their motivation and competence as well as achieve their goals. The proposal of modifying the Labor Standards Act currently submitted to the parliament will make it possible to avoid long-hour work, to keep workers healthy, and to choose a new working system for displaying their eagerness and ability. • To put it concretely, the modified act shows various and flexible work styles by requiring small-to medium-sized companies to review a rise in wage for an overtime of more than 60 hours a month and to let employees take annual paid leaves to suppress long-hour work, by starting an advanced professional system, and by reviewing the working system based on labor-management discretion. We now make efforts to pass the proposal in the parliament as soon as possible. FY 2027 or 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Indicators Measures later [IT industry] Setting up a government-private sector conference to grasp the actual state and promote improvement measures Activities for Working on what future measures should be avoiding long- Making a follow-up survey of concrete activities for achieving hour work on a the industrial goals business type basis Collecting good examples of activities Working on what health including keeping should be Working on what future measures should be wearable terminals Item 3. Avoiding long-hour work (4) Changing laws to introduce an overtime limit (Part 5) [Problems viewed from workers] [Concrete measures] Government officials work long hours. (Measures against government officials’ long-hour work) • Concerning national government officials, we will work on more effective measures in consideration of private system modifications and Ratio of members who work more than 360 hours, an proper public services. Assuming that overtime is avoidable, we will make the proper control of working time sounder, for example by letting overtime limit specified in the Overtime Shortening bosses grasp overtime reasons and expected working time. In addition, we promote activities for letting the personnel take annual paid Guidelines issued by the National Personnel Authority leaves. (2014) • Concerning local government officials, we will support group-by-group activities, for example by collecting and providing go-ahead examples All offices and ministries: 21.8% in average of overtime reduction positively and holding a meeting in which the attendants talk with each other about solutions of problems each local These offices and ministries: 46.6% in average government faces. • For teachers, we will run a practical research project to accelerate activities for improving school tasks on a board-of-education basis and make club activities proper through the development of guidelines for sports club activities and the employment of club instructors. Moreover, we will avoid long-hour work in consideration of what teacher’s work styles and duties should be shown by the Education Reconstruction and Execution Council. (Activities suitable to local situations) • We will support activities to be planned by each local work-style reform conference consisting of a prefectural government, companies, and employees. Furthermore, to encourage local companies to reform their work styles, the government wil promote local advanced activities through typical projects for training and sending advisers who will support work-style reforms generally and for deploying bases for giving comprehensive one-stop assistance. • We will promote rest-style reforms by conducting activities for promoting the use of annual paid leaves according to local properties. Local labor bureaus will take positive action as a consultation center for small- to medium-sized companies. (Premium Friday) • This government-private sector campaign will trigger the activation of consumption by encouraging workers to reform their work styles on Friday at the end of each month, such as taking a paid leave or leaving their companies early by using flexible hours. FY 2027 or Measures 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Indicators later [National government Planning and taking more effective measures against long-hour work, grasping Planning and taking further measures as necessary in consideration of the progress officials] overtime schedules, and promoting the use of annual paid leaves of the previous actions and the actual state of long-hour jobs [Local government Supporting group-by-group overtime reduction activities by collecting and providing go-ahead examples and holding a meeting about solutions of problems officials] Measures against Conducting practical research to accelerate the improvement of school tasks, government official’s making a follow-up survey, and taking action for making club activities proper long-hour work Reviewing the previous measures according to the progress, and working on and Making proposals taking further measures as necessary [Teachers] at the Education Reconstruction and Encouraging teachers to avoid long-hour work Execution Council Avoidance of government official’s Running typical projects for training long-hour work and sending work-style advisors in Activities prefectures and municipalities Promoting necessary activities in consideration of the verification of the projects, the step-by-step review of suitable to local Forming a team for supporting local work-style them, and discussion at the local conferences situations reforms, the members of which consist of related offices and ministries, and experts, to support local work-style conferences Premium Friday Promoting Premium Friday in cooperation with the government and private sector Item 3. Avoiding long-hour work (5) Building an environment to introduce the work interval system [Problems viewed from workers] [Future course of action] Few companies introduce the work In order for workers to have the enough time to make their lives healthy, we build an environment for interval system. Moreover, the interval introducing the work interval system. varies depending on the companies. • Ratio of companies that introduce the system: [Concrete measures] 2.2% in FY 2015 (Building an environment for introducing the work interval system) • Interval between operations in FY 2015 • We will revise the Act on Special Measures for Improvement of Working Hours Arrangements to oblige 8 hours or shorter: 38.5% companies to make efforts to set a break of certain hours between the finish time on the previous day and 8 to 11 hours: 12.9% the start time on the next day and to promote and popularize the work interval system. To do so, we will 11 hours or longer: 28.2% hold a meeting that includes experts on the management and labor sides. The government will also promote these measures by letting small- to medium-sized companies adopting the system know how to use subsidies and good examples. FY 2027 or 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Indicators Measures later Submitting a proposal for modifying the Labor Standards Act Preparations for Review at the appropriate time 5 according to enforcement Enforcing the modified act years after the enforcement the action plan Ratio of companies to the Building an parliament that introduces the environment system: 2.2% for introducing → Increase the work Starting a interval grant-in-aid Verification and review based on the PDCA cycle Environment for system introducing the system system Letting companies know good examples Item 3. Reduction of long working hours (6) Creation of healthy and worker-friendly workplace [Issues from workers’ perspective] [Direction of future measures] What it takes to improve workplace environment to be healthy for workers is not only to tighten work hour management. We will promote the The ratio of Japanese workers who work long creation of good human relationship with superiors and coworkers; strengthen industrial physicians and industrial health functions; and hours is larger than those of the US and strengthen the system to supervise and guide workplaces in accordance with new regulations. European countries. Thus it is difficult for them [Specific measures] to balance work and family life. (Review the government’s numerical target regarding the reduction of long working hours) • The ratio of those who work 49 or more hours a week: • In order to strengthen the prevention of abuse of authority at work places, the government will consider measures with both labor and Japan 21.3%, the US 16.6%, the UK 12.5%, France 10.4%, management. At the same time the government will review the government target by considering to set up new targets including mental Germany 10.1% (2014) health measures in the outline based on the Act to Accelerate Moves for the Prevention of Karoshi. • The ratio of workers who work 60 or more hours a week: (Strengthen efforts to take measures to keep mental health and prevent abuse of authority) 7.7% (14.7% of male workers in their 30’s in 2016) while • We will establish new systems to keep mental health and prevent abuse of authority where In the event that multiple industrial accidents for the government target is 5% or less in 2020) mental illness are recognized at a workplace, its head office is given individual guidance, including preventive measures for abuse of • The number of workplaces with more than 80 working authority, and the industrial physician is informed by the business operator of working hours of those who work more than 100 overtime hours per month: approx. 20,000 (FY2016 estimate) working hours per month or work on holidays. We will also strengthen efforts made by all of society to aim to eliminate Karoshi, including the enhancement of consultation counters for workers. Furthermore, we will promote mental health measures, including recreation • The ratio of workplaces where mental health measures were taken: 59.7% (2015) while the government target is activities in forest space and stress check-up. 80% (2017) (Thorough supervision and guidance) • From April to September 2016, supervision and guidance • We will tighten the enforcement of laws and regulations, including strict control by “Special Task force to Eliminate Overwork (katoku),” the were conducted for 10,059 workplaces. There were 4,416 implementation of guidance for remedial measures on a company-wide basis for a company whose multiple workplaces conduct illegal long workplaces (43.9%) where illegal overtime work was working hours, the reinforcement of the system to disclose the company’s name at the time of guidance for remedial measure. We will identified. Among them, the number of workplaces where conduct thorough supervision and guidance for workplaces that have not made agreement of Article 36 of Labor Standards Act with their more than 80 overtime working hours per month were workers’ union. In addition, in order to recognize proper working hours, we will ensure that the employer conducts thorough working hour identified: 3,450 work places (34.3%) management based on the guidelines that clarifies measures to be taken by the employer. • Reasons why young workers want to change jobs: “they (Strengthen efforts to secure workers’ health) want to work at a company that provides better working • We will consider measures to strengthen industrial physicians and industrial health functions and revise necessary laws and regulations and conditions of work hours, holidays and vacations. 2009: systems. 37.1% → 2013: 40.6% • We will comprehensively promote measures to ensure worker’s health and safety, including health problems unique to women and the safety and health of construction workers. FY 2027 or 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Indicators Measures later Consider effective measures to Discuss at a study meeting etc. Implement new measures prevent abuse of authority Strengthen efforts to take Strengthen efforts to take After a certain period of time to measures to keep mental health Implement countermeasures reflecting measures to keep mental health raise awareness, new regulations and prevent abuse of authority and prevent abuse of authority new regulations Review the will be implemented government target by Review the government’s Consider new considering setting numerical target regarding the Initiatives for new numerical targets reduction of long working hours numerical targets up new targets, including mental Give corrective instructions to health measures, in After a certain period of time to Implement supervision and guidance reflecting company head offices and ensure the outline based on Thorough supervision the recognition raise awareness, new regulations will be implemented new regulations the Act to Accelerate and guidance of appropriate working hours Moves for the Enhancement of consultation counters for workers Prevention of Karoshi Strengthen industrial Measures to secure Effect of a new system physicians and industrial (The effective date is Implement a new system workers’ health health functions under consideration) Item 4. Work environment improvement for flexible work styles (7) Drastic reform of the guidelines for the employed-type telework and support for the introduction of the system (Part 1) [Issues from workers’ perspective] [Direction of future measures] There are two types of telework. One is employed-type telework where a worker works at home after making an employment contract Although many people wish to implement with the employer and the other is non-employed type telework where a worker assumes to work at home without an employment the telework system, the number of contract with the employer. With regard to the employed-type telework, we will make a drastic reform of the guidelines for labor companies that have introduced the management in order to promote the new work style while being careful of not encouraging long working hours, responding to ch anges telework system is small and the number of in work environment such as the dissemination of smartphones and satellite offices. In addition, we will promote information and actual teleworkers is also small. enlightenment for companies with support for the introduction of the work style and the government’s recommendation and initi ative. • Companies that wish to implement telework: 30.1% (2016) • Companies that have not introduced telework: 83.8% [Specific measures] (end of 2015) (Drastic reform of the guidelines for labor management) • The ratio of teleworkers of all workers (homeworking • In response to the recent progress of ICT environment, in order to accelerate the dissemination of telework, including a vari ety of all day at least one day a week): 2.7% (2015) working styles, and prevent long working hours, we will make a drastic reform of the guidelines for home working within the f iscal Telework promotion tools, including year 2017 to establish telework guidelines with the following perspectives: guidelines, provided by the government are (1) For the acceleration of telework, various work styles other than home working (satellite office working and mobile working) not compatible with recent changes in work will be added. environment such as in mobile equipment. (2) In order to encourage companies to introduce telework, the following matters will be clarified to put it into practice easil y. • Guidelines for the current labor management and  When introducing telework, we will clarify conditions to use a system of deemed working hours outside the workplace even security regarding telework do not assume the if carrying a cellphone, a flexible working time system, a discretionary labor system and methods to use a system of deemed dissemination of smartphones and satellite offices, working hours outside the workplace. and companies that intend to introduce telework find them difficult to refer to.  We will specify how to treat idle time and commuting time in partial home working. (3) Additional countermeasures for long working hours (recommend examples of countermeasures for long working hours, The telework is liable to encourage long including the limit to night working hours and restrictions on sending emails at late night and holidays) working hours due to difficulty in labor management. (Drastic reform of the guidelines for security) • We will make a drastic reform of the guidelines for telework security within the fiscal year 2017 to clarify security aspect needed (2014) (1) Based on the recent ICT environment (Wi-Fi, cloud environment, dissemination of smartphone and tablet), to reinforce • Progress management is difficult: 36.4% security measures with well-balanced of rules on the use of equipment, education for users and system quality. • Working hour management is difficult: 30.9% • There is a communication problem: 27.3% (2) Based on the actual situation of satellite office and mobile work other than home working, to reinforce security measures th at • Information security is ensured: 27.3% should be implemented by the management, system manager, and teleworkers. FY 2027 or 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Indicators Measures later The number of companies that Release, implementation, public introduce the telework system Drastic reform of the Set up the study will be three times that of 2012 guidelines for labor committee of experts announcement and dissemination of Review as necessary and reform the by 2020 and the number of management guidelines telework guidelines employed and home-working teleworkers who work at home all day at least one day a week will be 10% of all workers. Set up the study Drastic reform of the committee of experts Release and implementation of We will consider a new KPI, and reform the Review as necessary guidelines for security guidelines reformed guidelines taking into account the progress of flexible working styles, including work by hour, work outside home and mobile work. Item 4. Work environment improvement for flexible work styles (7) Drastic reform of the guidelines for the employed-type telework and support for the introduction of the system (Part 2) [Issues from workers’ perspective] [Specific measures] The telework is liable to encourage long (Support for introduction, promotion of use) working hours due to difficulty in labor • As a national strategic special zone, we will implement one-stop consultation support for companies that management. introduce telework. In addition, we will coordinate subsidies and expand grants for the introduction of (2014) • Progress management is difficult: 36.4% management, in order to facilitate telework for those who wish to use it. Furthermore, we will develop • Working hour management is difficult: 30.9% security experts and dispatch them to companies. • There is a communication problem: 27.3% • Information security is ensured: 27.3% (Informing and enlightenment, taking the initiative) Although those who know about telework wish • Toward the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, we will study and implement measures, including setting to use it, Japanese people lack of the up a telework day on a specific day when we implement telework, to promote telework as a national recognition of telework. movement by collaborating with relevant Ministries and Agencies. We will also strengthen informing and • Whether or not to recognize telework and each side’s enlightening people in regions and add points for efforts to implement telework in award systems. intention to use it (2016) wish to use it: 65% • For national government employees, we will (1) systematically improve environment in order for those who wish to use it: 20% need telework when necessary can fully use it, and (2) introduce remote access functions to all the Ministries * The status of recognition in the U.S.: those who recognize by 2020. In addition, for local government employees, we will support public organizations to implement 58%, those who do not recognize 42% telework by collecting and providing examples of local public organizations that practice various working styles with the use of telework. FY 2027 or Measures 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Indicators later Revision of the Act on National Collaborate Strategic Special with Tokyo Aim to develop nationwide Zone Government Support for the improvement of satellite offices in regional areas through collaboration of Ministries The number of companies Support for Early support to increase that introduce the subsidies Verification by PDCA cycle and review telework system will be introduction three times that of 2012 Model businesses Promotion of (Support for balancing child-care and work, implementation of telework for persons by 2020 and the number with disabilities) Based on the status of implementation, use of employed and home- Support by experts for the introduction of telework We will consider and implement necessary measures to working teleworkers who Preparation of textbooks work at home all day at for human resource Development of experts with the use of textbooks achieve the reset KPI. least one day a week will development be 10% of all workers. Study, implementation and expansion of a national movement such as a telework day through collaboration of relevant Ministries and Agencies We will consider a new KPI, taking into account Informing and Additional evaluation points in Japan Service Award and “Omotenashi” Service Quality Certification the progress of flexible enlightenment working styles, including Strengthening of informing and enlightening at Prefectural Labor Offices and Local Council for the Realization of Work Style Reform work by hour, work Taking outside home and mobile For national government employees, we will improve environment for telework and introduce remote access the initiative functions to all the Ministries. While reviewing based on the status of implementation, we will promote further development. work. For local government employees, we will support local public organizations for their efforts through collection and provision of advanced examples of telework. While reviewing based on the status of implementation, we will promote further development . Item 4. Work environment improvement for flexible work styles (8) Drastic reform of the guidelines for non-employed type telework and support for workers [Issues from workers’ perspective] [Direction of future measures] Non-employed work styles, including non-employed type telework, With regard to non-employed type telework, we will aim to improve work environment to create better work styles and have an increasing job opportunities spurred by the expansion of strengthen support for workers, including revision of the guide book and education and training. In addition, we will conside r how crowd sourcing (agency service for outsourcing on the internet) to protect work styles similar to employment on a long- and mid-term basis, including the necessity of legal protection. thanks to the progress of ICT. • Domestic crowd sourcing market [Specific measures] 21.5 billion yen (2013) → 40.8 billion yen (2014) → 65.0 billion yen (2015) (Long-and mid-term consideration of legal protection) (Growth prospect by 2020 average +45.4% p.a.) • With regard to general work styles (contract and self-employed), including non-employed type telework, from the fiscal year 2017, we will sequentially understand the actual status of each work style and consider how to protect work styles similar to With regard to non-employed type telework, outsourcing business employment at panels of experts on a long- and mid-term basis, including the necessity of legal protection. through mediators (platformers) such as crowd sourcing has just * Currently, regardless of contract styles, if contractors actually work as workers they are protected by labor-related laws started, facing various disputes over contracts. and regulations, which will continue to be implemented properly. • Non-employed teleworkers (home working type): 1,264 thousand people (2013) (dedicated workers: 916 thousand people, side job workers: 348 (Reform of guidelines) thousand people) • With regard to non-employed type telework, after we understand the actual status of contract conditions and troubles • Non-employed teleworkers who have experienced trouble with the orderer associated with the dissemination of crowd sourcing, including simple transactions without a written contract and a rapid (homeworking type) (2012) increasing tentative delivery of literary works, we will revise the current guidelines on the premise of bilateral contract Unilateral change of job contents: 25.1% between the worker and the orderer in the fiscal year 2017 from the following perspectives and aim at thorough awareness Delayed pay: 17.1% strict compliance Determination of unjustifiable low pay: 15.3% (1) We will clarify that the revised guidelines will be applicable when a mediator like crowd sourcing reorders. Non-employed work styles cannot receive support for the employer (2) We will clarify rules needed when to make orders through crowd sourcing, including the explicit of brokerage and and opportunities for job training are limited. copyright treatment. ・ Example of support measures for the employer, which non-employed (Clarification of rules that the industry should follow) workers cannot use: retirement benefits, in-house job training, education and training benefits • With regard to mediators such as crowd sourcing (platformers), we will establish a system to certify excellent business operators in the industry to encourage their efforts to improve themselves, and based on the status of their efforts we will In principle, labor-related laws and regulations are not applicable to clarify the minimum rules to follow from the fiscal year 2018. non-employed work styles (if they are actual “workers,” labor- related laws and regulations are applicable and the Subcontract Act (Support for workers) may be applicable) and it is insufficient to recognize the actual • In the fiscal year 2017, we will revise the guidebook for workers that summarizes knowhow needed for non-employed type situation of such various work styles. teleworkers (matters to be aware of at the time of contract and relevant laws and regulations). In addition, for the improvement of safety net such as the promotion of enrollment in the small enterprise mutual aid plan as well as education and training, we will consider and implement support measures through collaboration between private and public sectors. FY 2027 or 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Indicators Measures later Consider legal protection Based on the actual situation, consider and implement legal protection as a long-and mid-term issue. Thorough information of and compliance with guidelines Set up a panel of experts Review based on the situation Improve rules, Reform of the guidelines Clarification, implementation, and application of the industry’s rules including the reform regarding mediators (platformers) We will reduce of guidelines Encourage the industry to take initiative to set up a system to certify excellent troubles regarding Develop specific measures business operators contracts for non- employed type Revise the guidebook Awareness of the guidebook Review based on the situation telework Disseminate and enlighten policy measures of SMEs and micro enterprises Support for workers and consider improvement measures and Develop specific measures the direction of measures Consider and implement support measures, including the improvement of safety net and skills through collaboration between the private and public sectors Item 4. Work environment improvement for flexible work styles (9) Work environment improvement, including the establishment of guidelines for the promotion of side job and second job and the revision of the model work rules [Issues from workers’ perspective] [Direction of future measures] Although many people wish to have a In foreign countries, startups through side jobs and second jobs contribute to higher startup ratio. Side jobs and second jobs are effective means of developing side job or a second job, they cannot new technologies and open innovation, startup and preparation for the second life. Therefore, we will aim to promote side jobs and second jobs by preparing have as they wish. guidelines and revising the model work rules and will spread good examples of startups and the creation of new businesses through side jobs and second jobs. • The number of those who wish to have a side At the same time, we will reorganize the concept of working hour management in order to prevent long hours working. job: 3.68 million people • The number of those who have a side job: [Specific measures] 2.34 million people (Prepare guidelines) • The ratio of companies that prohibit a side job: 85.3% • From a viewpoint of disseminating and promoting side jobs and second jobs, we will show their advantages while we will clarif y that work rules and the like cannot restrict side jobs and second jobs without reasonable grounds. At the same time, in order to prevent long hours working, we will establish a tool template to understand working hour management and health management and to check by workers themselves whether or not they overwork as It is difficult to grasp working hours well as guidelines including points of concern in the fiscal year 2017. and methods of health management (Revise the model work rules) are unclear. • Unless side jobs and second jobs affect working for the main job or business operation or interfere the company’s credit and reputation, we will revise the model work rules in the fiscal year 2017 to approve side jobs and second jobs and to enable work rules to inform that side jobs and second jobs There are many overseas startups cannot be restricted without reasonable grounds. through side jobs and second jobs (Consider to establish a system to protect those who work at multiple workplaces and disseminate and promote side jobs and second jobs) that are effective as a means of • With regard to the concept of fair systems of unemployment insurance and social insurances and the way of working hour manage ment and health startup business. management, we will consider to establish a system from a perspective of protecting those who work at multiple workplaces and disseminating and promoting side jobs and second jobs. unemployment insurance or social insurances. • Start up business while working: 27.5% • We will start the study of industrial accident insurance benefits for those who work at multiple workplaces. • Among those who are interested in * The current situation is that the amount of industrial accident insurance benefits for a worker who works at multiple workplaces is calculated only startup, those who wish to start up based on the salary of the company where the accident occurred, not based on the total salary of all workplaces. business of a side job: 59.7% (Startups and creation of new businesses through side jobs and second jobs, securing human resources) • Business is going well: • With regard to startups and the creation of new businesses through side jobs and second jobs in response to a shortage of workers of SMEs, we will [Original startup business] 34% inform and enlighten workers about various advanced examples and enhance consultation systems. In addition, we will select and support a company [From the startup of a side job to as a model by regional bloc in order to create models of side jobs and second jobs in regional areas. a dedicated business] 47.4% FY 2027 or 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Indicators Measures later Organize a study session, develop Thorough information to disseminate the guidelines Disseminate and guidelines, and Review based on the status of dissemination promote a side job and revise the model work rules Thorough information to disseminate the model work rules a second job Solve problems Consider a system to protect those who work at multiple workplaces and to disseminate and promote a side job and a second job Thorough information on advanced examples and advantages Consider further measures if necessary and implement them We will create society Start-up and creation Award entrepreneurs where those who of new businesses and business operators wish can have a side through side jobs job or a second job Consider further measures if necessary and implement them and second jobs Create local model cases Address a shortage of workers of SMEs, including accepting workers who have a Address a shortage of side job and a second job Consider further measures if necessary and implementthem Establish, deliver and inform guidelines workers of SMEs and micro enterprises Enhance consultation systems Consider further measures if necessary and implement them Item 5. Balancing work and treatment of disease, child rearing, and family care, and the promotion of the employment of persons with disabilities (10) Promotion of triangle support for treatment-work balance [Issues from workers’ perspective] [Direction of future measures] One person in three of the working population work We will improve work environment where patients with a disease like cancer and married couples under infertility treatment ca n exercise their carrying some kind of disease and some quit their job full potential. In order for them to work depending on their medical condition, we will establish a triangle support system for the patient, the for treatment. doctor and the company where we continue to provide patients with close consultation support and staff a coordinator who supports balancing • The number of workers with disease: 20.07 million (FY2013) treatment and work by coordinating interactions among the three parties. At the same time we will inform and enlighten the company and • The ratio of workers who quit job due to treatment (cancer) approx. 34% workers to encourage them to make fundamental reform of the corporate culture. (of which voluntary 30%, dismiss 4%) (2013) [Specific measures] It is important that the coordinator supports a patient by coordinating with the doctor and the company for (Establish a triangle support system) work-treatment balance. • In order to establish a triangle support system for work-treatment balance, we will take the following measures: • Those who carry disease wish to work : 92.5% (FY2013) (1) We will nurture and staff core persons who closely support patients for work-treatment balance by coordinating the doctor with the • Major reasons for leaving after being affected by cancer: company as well as preparing a plan to receive proper treatment for each patient that enables them to work. (1) Lost confidence to continue to work (2) Reluctance to cause problems to the workplace (2013) (2) We will progress specifying the contents of and how to make a plan for work-treatment balance. We also prepare and disseminate a manual for an effective coordination of the doctor, the company, and the industrial physician. Lack of familiar consultants for patients (3) With regard to cancer, incurable disease, stroke, liver disease, etc., we will prepare and disseminate support manuals by disease for the • For example, the ratio of cancer examination coordination hospitals that company, describing treatment methods by disease and characteristics of symptom of disease (fatigue, chronic pain, numbness, etc.) as well have established a consultation support system staffed with job experts as points of concern for work-treatment balance support. and in cooperation with Hallow Work (employment security bureau) is 38% (only150 places out of 399 places) (2016) (Enhance consultation support for balancing infertility treatment and work) ・Functions of the Infertility Consultation Center that conducts consultation support for those who are under infertility treatment will be It has not been established to organize a flexible leave expanded to the extent of work-treatment balance support. system and a flexible working system for work- (Fundamental reform of the corporate culture) treatment balance. ・We will progress the information and enlightenment for workers and general people about the introduction and expansion of work- • The ratio of companies that have a sick leave system: 22.4% (private treatment balance support, including dissemination and promotion of guidelines established in February 2016 for work-treatment balance company with 30 or more regular workers) (2012) support at workplaces. • The ratio f companies that have a system to support return from sick leave: 11.5% (private companies with 50 or more regular workers) ・We will support companies with subsidies to support the introduction of flexible leave systems and flexible working systems. (2012) ・From a perspective of securing workers’ health, we will strengthen industrial physicians” and industrial health functions. ・From a perspective of treatment-work balance, we will consider requirements for accident and sickness benefits and take necessary measures. FY 2027 or 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Indicators Measures later Nurture and staff coordinators who support work-treatment balance (Industrial Accident Hospitals, Occupational Health Support Center) Nurture and staff coordinators who support work-treatment balance (Medical institutions, companies) Specify the Implement a balance plan model like cancer Disseminate a work-treatment balance plan Consider the expansion of support based on the situation of a triangle support system Establish a triangle support Training of the doctor and industrial physician, preparation and dissemination of manual of collaboration with We will aim to create the company system Prepare an individual support manual by disease (sequentially prepare a manual for each disease) society where treatment-work Sequentially increase and enhance consultation counters such as cancer base hospitals and Hallow Work Promote the quality of life with medial treatment, including care for appearance of cancer patients. Review the system depending on the consultation situation balance is common. Staff a coordinator who supports workers of Employment support in line with characteristics of people with juvenile dementia and promotion of social participation juvenile dementia We will nurture 2,000 Enhance consultation Expand functions of the Infertility Consultation Center support for infertility Create a new infertility consultation system work-treatment Conduct survey of those who work under treatment-work balance balance coordinators infertility treatment Fundamental reform of Disseminate and promote guidelines Promote the introduction of health management by the fiscal year the corporate culture 2020. Establish a work-treatment balance support and Promote work-treatment balance support in regions Dissemination enlightenment promotion team Consider further support measures for work-treatment balance based on the company’s awareness and the status of dissemination Support with subsidies Consultation for companies, guidance by individual visit , support for the introduction of systems with subsidies Accident and sickness benefits Consider and take action about requirements for payment of accident and sickness benefits Item 5. Balancing work and treatment of disease, child rearing, and nursing car, and promotion of the employment of persons with disabilities (11) Enhancement of support for balancing child-rearing, family care and work and the promotion of the use of support [Issues from workers’ perspective] [Direction of future measures] Workers wish to continue to work while doing In order for both men and women to balance work and child care and family care in line with their own life stage, we will strengthen support measures for work-child care and child-rearing and family care. family care balance while promoting the improvement of facilities for child care and the quality of family care services as well as treatment for personnel of child care and ・ Female workers who wish to continue to work after family care. We will continue to steadily improve facilities for child care by working together with local governments. At th e same time, based on the women’s progress in childbirth:65.1% (2015) workforce, we will comprehensively examine the ongoing measures to develop a new plan aiming to realize the zero -waiting list for nursery schools. ・Although they wished to continued to work after getting pregnant and child birth, they quit job due to difficulty in balancing child care and work.: 25.2% (2015) [Specific measures] ・Those who quit job for reason of family care: 100,000 people a year (2012) (Improve treatment for personnel of child care and family care) ・Business entities where there were workers who took family • In the fiscal year 2017, we will implement 2% improvement of treatment for all child care workers. This will realize 10% improvement in total after the change of care leave: 1.3% (FY2014) government. In addition, we will add 5,000 yen a month for workers who have some three years or more of experience, 40,000 yen for workers who have some seven years or more of experience. For family care workers, from the fiscal year 2017, we will create a system to raise pay dependi ng on experience and improve treatment There are some cases where it is difficult to by an average of 10,000 yen. In the future we will further improve treatment as necessary. return to work after child care leave even if they wish to do. (Revise the Child Care and Family Care Leave Act) ・ Of those who wished to continue to work but quit job due to • In order to extend the period of child care leave to the maximum child’s age of two years old from the current period where a child aged one and six months old difficulty in balancing work and child care, the ratio of those cannot enter a nursery school, we will revise the Child Care and Family Care Leave Act and make steady implementation after the revised Act is enacted. We will also who quit job because of unable to trust a child with a nursery extend the payment period for child care leave benefits by the unemployment insurance. school : 17% (2015) There are some cases where workers cannot take (Promote men’s participation in child care and family care) • With regard to the child care-friendly companies certification system (Kurumin certification) based on the Act on Advancement of Measures and Child Care Leave, we child care leave during the period they wish to will immediately raise the certification criteria for men to take child care leave. In addition, from a perspective of visualization of the situation of men’s taking child do as in a case that the child is usually trusted care leave, we will review the provisions of the Act regarding general business operators’ action plan in the fiscal year 201 7 and consider further measures to promote with a nursing school in April, child care leave men’s participation in child care by 2020 five years after the Act is revised. Furthermore, we will prepare role model collec tion of bosses (Iku-Boss) who are considerate should be stopped before the child turns one and understanding on their subordinates’ and colleagues’ child care and family care to promote awareness of men’s participation in child care. year old. • From a viewpoint of start with the first step, we will enhance work environment for the national government employees where it is natural for all men to take “men’s • The number of children waiting for admission: 23,553 (as of child birth leave” before and after their wives’ birth. April 1, 2016) • For local government employees, we will collect and provide cases of local governments that have made efforts to achieve a high rate of taking men’s child care leave • Children of 0 to 2 years old waiting for admission account for and support each organization’s efforts based on their action plan for female employees who can play active roles by providin g local governments with opportunities 80% and more. Most of them are one and two years old to exchange opinions to solve issues they have. children. Men’s child care has made little progress. ・The ratio of worker taking child care leave (2015) Men: 2.65% Women: 81.5% FY 2027 or 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Indicators Measures later Preparation Thorough awareness Extend the period of child after the Support for smooth return to work from child care leave Review based on the situation of the enforcement of the Act The ratio of those who care leave enactment of the ACT (spread of good examples) think there will be a society where people Thorough implementation feel secured to get of the revised Child Care Thorough awareness of the revised Act and guide companies ・Enhance child care and family care leave married, pregnant, give and Family Care Leave Act ・Companies will be obligated to take preventive measure for harassment for reasons of child care leave, child’s nursing care t ime off, family care leave, family care time off birth to a baby, and rear enacted in January 2017 a child in 2020.: 40% and more (FY2013: 19.4%) Consider the review of the way of child care leave system based on needs Implement what can be done as needed The ratio of male workers who take child Review the provisions of Consider and implement the review of care leave: 13% (FY2015: Promote men’s the Act on Advancement the Act on Advancement of Measures to 2.65%) involvement in of Measures and Promote Promote the visualization of the situation of men’s taking child care leave Support Raising Next-Generation housekeeping, child care, Men’s Child Care Leave Children, family care The ratio of male Enlighten male workers to participate in child care by preparing Iku-Boss role model collection spouses who take child care leave immediately after the birth: 80% National government employees: recommend to take ”Men’s child birth leave” Local government employees: support each local government’s efforts Item 5. Balancing work and treatment of disease, child rearing, and nursing car, and promotion of the employment of persons with disabilities (12) Promotion of employment support for persons with disabilities to meet their requirements and potentials [Issues from workers’ perspective] [Direction of future measures] Although employment environment for persons with We will aim to create a society where it is natural that persons with disabilities can exercise their full potentials in acco rdance with characteristics of disabilities to meet their disabilities has been getting better, it remains that requirements, abilities and competence. For that purpose, we will reduce the number of companies that have no employment of persons with disabilities by prioritizing long- about 30% of companies with 50 employees that are term and close support and change welfare employment places to places where persons with disabilities can feel more rewarded. In addition, for children who need special obligated to employ such person have no employment support, we will prepare a seamless support system from preschool to after graduation by the collaboration of elementary, sec ondary and higher educational institutions and of them at all. relevant administrative organs of welfare health, medical, labor, etc. [Specific measures] It is necessary to promote understanding within a (Prioritization of long-term and close support) company, including the top management, and to solve • In order to encourage companies that have no employment of persons with disabilities to accept them, we will support companies to accept them as trainees and issues, including the improvement of work contents recommend taking a training session to provide knowhow on the employment of persons with disabilities. In addition, we will introduce and dispatch retired persons and procedures. who have knowledge about the employment of persons with disabilities. It is necessary to cooperate among relevant (Consistent support for persons with disabilities from while in school toward general employment) • In order to support persons with disabilities, including persons with developmental disorder or potential of such disability, by providing a consistent support for administrative organs for their employment. education and employment from while in school in accordance with characteristics of disabilities, their requirements and potentials, we will establish a seamless support system where the board of education, universities, administrative organs of welfare, health, medical, and labor, and companies collaborate at each stage of Although an increasing number of employment education and also establish a network to collaborate with companies. supporting welfare offices where the shifting rate of • For persons who left work after shifting to general employment, we will create a system to support them to return to work by allowing them to use welfare services for persons with disabilities from a welfare office to a employment for persons with disabilities during the leave period and promote shift from welfare business to general employment. general workplace is 20% or more, more than 30% of • We will establish s practical telephone relay service system where persons with hearing disabilities can make a phone call by themselves. We also aim to disseminate welfare offices have no shifting, creating polarization. prosthetic device using the latest technologies for the purpose of improving their work life. (Promote the use of the homeworking support system) The level of salary and wages of users at welfare • In order to encourage persons with disabilities to work at home, we will establish business models to mediate a person with d isabilities who works at home and an offices is insufficient. ordering company, support the visualization of excellent intermediary services, and promote the use of the homeworking suppo rt system (adjustment allowance is ・The average salary of Type-A continued employment support granted to companies that order jobs to persons with disabilities). offices is 68,000 yen (FY2015) ・The average wage of type-B continued employment support (Strengthen the collaboration of agriculture and welfare) offices is 15,000 yen (FY2015) • We will aim to support the sixth industrialization of employment facilities for persons with disabilities who are engaged in agriculture and implement the collaboration of agriculture and welfare with an active use of abandoned farmlands on a nationwide basis. FY 2027 or 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Indicators Measures later Support companies that accept persons with disabilities as trainees for the first time and develop personnel who have knowhow on the employment of persons with disabilities Prioritization of long- Introduce and dispatch retired persons who have knowledge about the employment of persons Improve in accordance with the review of the mid-term plan by Japan Organization for Employment of term and close with disabilities to accepting companies the Elderly, Persons with Disabilities and Job Seekers support Establish models of telework for persons with disabilities (homeworking) (satellite type office) Consider support measures based on the results of the establishment of models We will promote efforts to Prepare a support system by the collaboration of the Board of Education and administrative organs of reduce companies that have welfare and labor Distribute and disseminate the achievement of collaboration system and expand the Consider further support measures development of employment coordinators nationwide no employment of persons 30 regions by 2017 94 regions by 2019 with disabilities. Consistent support for Establish a network as a model of support system where a persons with university, a high school, an administrative organ and a Disseminate the achievements of business through training across the country By 2020,we will increase the Consider further support measures based on the status of implementation disabilities from while company collaborate number of persons with in school toward disabilities who can shift to Persons who left work after employed can use welfare service for employment Review based on the results every time allowance is revised general employment via the general employment Start providing benefits Consider to reflect allowance use of employment support offices by 1.5 times or more Implement telephone relay services Consider further expansion based on the status of implementation the results of the fiscal year Disseminate prosthetic device using the latest technologies Promote further employment of persons with disabilities by disseminating prosthetic device Visualize 2016. Promotion of the use of Establish models excellent the homeworking support of intermediary Review necessary systems based on the efforts and promote the use of the homeworking support system intermediary system services businesses Strengthen the Promote the employment of persons with disabilities Hold Marche with the Tokyo Further promotion of the collaboration collaboration of agriculture by the collaboration of agriculture and welfare in every prefecture Olympics and of agriculture and welfare and welfare (it will be conducted nationwide By FY 2018) Paralympics Item 6. Accepting foreign human resources (13) Development of environment to accept foreign human resources [Issues from workers’ perspective] [Direction of future measures] At present, we proactively accept foreign human resources It is important to accept foreign human resources for Japanese professional and technological fields because they can contribute to the revitalization of Japan’s for professional and technological fields, but it is not economic society. On the other hand, we will carefully consider the acceptance of foreign human resources to other fields bas ed on the national consensus from not approved to accept them for other fields because it could only a perspective of grasping needs and examining economic effects, but also other broad perspectives, including the impact on the employment of Japanese people, give a significant impact on the employment of Japanese the impact on the industrial structure, education, social costs like social security and public security. people, the national economy and people’s lives. [Specific measures] It is necessary to promote the development of necessary (Consider the way to accept foreign human resources) environment where foreign persons can live in Japan and a • In order to secure the sustainability of economic and social infrastructures, we will comprehensively and specifically consider the way to accept foreign human work environment where they can exercise their abilities under a fair evaluation of their abilities and treatment. resources focusing on truly necessary fields. Thus we will research and consider necessary matters, including a system that prevents misunderstanding as an immigration policy and the way to build a national consensus, on a government-wide basis. In order to attract foreign human resources who have high- level skills and knowledge to Japan, it is necessary to develop (Develop environments for foreign persons’ lives and employment) a more attractive immigration and residency management • We will develop educational environments for foreign children to receive Japanese language education and living environments where foreign languages are system than those of foreign countries. available at medical institutions and banks. Furthermore, we will develop a receptive environment for foreign highly-skilled human resources with fair evaluation Foreign housekeepers used be allowed to immigrate and stay of their abilities and treatment and other environments for foreign students to receive Japanese language education, internship and employment support, in Japan only if they were employed by diplomats and highly including the enhancement of consultation support for employment management. skilled workers. From viewpoints of women’s progress in (Further utilization of highly-skilled foreign human resources) workplaces and responding to needs for housekeeping • We will establish Japan’s Green Card for foreign highly skilled human resources, which significantly shortens the current five year period of stay, one of the support, the expansion of acceptance was requested. shortest period of stay in the world, to apply for permanent residency. At the same time, we will review requirements for point system of highly skilled human In order to promote a variety of crop production and realize resources from a viewpoint of easier use of it. “strong agriculture” by expanding the size of agriculture management, it is an urgent issue to utilize foreign specialists (Utilization of National Strategic Special Zones) in the agricultural field. • We will appropriately utilize foreign housekeepers based on the National Strategic Special Zones Act. In the current system, if a foreign person has graduated from • In a national strategic special zone, in order to enable highly skilled and industry-ready foreign persons who were employed by companies that can conduct a Japanese higher education institution (university and proper employment management under an appropriate control system by the relevant local government and the relevant Ministry and Agency to engage in vocational school) and has obtained a national qualification of farming and others, we submitted to an ordinary session of the Diet in 2017 a bill to revise the National Strategic Special Zones Act to include necessary a certified care worker, he or she cannot work for family care provisions like special measures. services in Japan. (Utilization of foreign certified care workers) • We will steadily promote the utilization of professional care workers based on the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and after the revision of the Immigration Act and the Refugee Recognition Act to create a resident status “Care” are enacted, we will proactively promote the acceptance of foreign human resources based on these systems in accordance with the aim of each system. FY 2027 or 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Indicators Measures later Consider the way to accept foreign human Comprehensive and specific consideration resources Develop environments for foreign persons’ lives and Steady implementation at responsible Ministries and Agencies We will aim to achieve the employment 100% participation rate of foreign children, who need Further utilization of to learn Japanese language foreign highly skilled Promote the utilization of foreign highly-skilled persons and receive Japanese persons language lessons. Utilization of foreign housekeepers We will aim to certify 10,000 Utilization of National Preparation for Highly skilled and industry-ready foreign persons who were employed by companies that can conduct proper employment management will be utilized foreign highly-skilled persons Strategic Special Zones deliberation by 2020. on the bill for the agricultural field under an appropriate management system We will start accepting Utilization of professional care workers based on EPA foreign persons with the Utilization of foreign certified care workers Preparation for the resident status “Care” from enforcement of the Utilization of professional care workers with the use of the new resident status “Care” the fiscal year 2017. revised Act Item 7. Development of environments where women and young people can exercise their abilities and Item 8. Support for job change to an industry that requires many employees and reemployment development of human resources, enhancement of education not to immobilize academic gaps (14) Support for women who wish to relearn (recurrent education) and vocational training (part 1) [Issues from workers’ perspective] [Direction of future measures] Education costs per person at a private company have been We will fundamentally strengthen human investments by individuals, companies and the government to make concentrated investments. We gradually declining. will drastically expand support for individuals who wish to improve their career and to be employed through their proactive relearning, including ・Trends in companies’ education and training recurrent education for women who left work because of childrearing or other reason and learning about sophisticated IT knowledge. At he same 1,670 yen per person a month (1991) →1,038 yen per person a month (2011) time, we will also expand education and training by companies as well as training for persons who left work for a long time. Furthermore, we will Half of workers wish to relearn. What they request to make it establish a vocational university to provide practical education and promote a systematic career education. easy to relearn are support for learning costs and the enhancement of programs. [Specific measures] ・Working students (Graduate students aged 25 or more) 2.5% (2016) (OECD average 16.7% (2014)) (Support for women who wish to relearn, including recurrent education) ・Men and women aged 20 or more (have relearned, wish to relearn) 49.4% • In order to expand professional practical education and training benefits by the unemployment insurance, we will propose a bill in 2017 ・Efforts to make it easy for workers to relearn “Economic support for tuitions” 46.1% and implement it within the fiscal year 2017. “ Enhancement of programs for workers to be useful for employment and obtaining qualifications” 35.0% (1) Pay rate: 60% →70% Upper limit: 480,000 yen per year → 560,000 yen “Enhancement of lectures on weekends and holidays and at night” 34.0% (2) Receiving period: within four years after leave → within 10 years after leave (procedures to extend the receiving period during child Recurrent education programs attract attention of women rearing that was required to take within one month after leave will be abolished from April 2017) who wish to relearn and to be reemployed after leaving work due to child care (Enhancement and diversification of lectures to relearn) • “You can restart at any age and from any situation. There are many things I can make use of at this workplace because I have experienced child rearing.” (a woman who is • We will add courses for recurrent education of women who are raising children and for fields like IT where employment is expected to reemployed via a recurrent education after being a dedicated housewife.) increase, and weekend and night courses. In addition, we will diversify courses and improve conveniences, including newly establishing e- • “I had a good opportunity to reflect myself and prepare for reemployment. If a housewife makes her resume and submit it to a company, she cannot be employed. learning courses. Through a recurrent education I was introduced to a company which reemployed me” • We will consider to create a new system within the fiscal year 2017, where the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry certif ies education (a woman who was reemployed via current education after working at home while raising children) and training courses to enhance abilities and skills that will be required in the future focusing on advanced IT fields and to provide learners with professional practical education and training benefits. • For non-regular workers, we will newly establish and expand a long-term training course for persons who left work for a long time to By the fourth industrial revolution, necessary skills on IT and realize their return to be regular employees, aiming to support them to acquire national qualifications. data for workers have changed, and workers needs skills to • Collaborating with relevant organs’ websites, we will establish a website to provide various kinds of at-a-glance information on relearning. respond to these changes. FY 2027 or 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Indicators Measures later [Expansion of education <> We will increase the number of Support for Prepare for Raise the rate and recurrent education courses. submitting a billamount of benefit women’s recurrent Extend the Encourage women to take recurrent education courses We will increase the number of Abolish available period BP certificate courses (female education procedures for benefits advancement. We will increase the number of workers who receive education Diversification of target courses for professional practical education and training benefits, improvement Review based on the status of implementation and training benefits. of convenience [Establishment of a certification system by We will double the number of the Minster of Economy, Trade and Industry] target courses for professional practical education and training Enhancement and Set up Application benefits (2,500→5,000) diversification of criteria Certification Start courses certified by Ministers Identify needs of industries We will increase the number of lectures for non-regular employees who take a Expansion of the realization of regular employee course long-term training courses, relearning Review based on the status of implementation (tentative name) wishing to be employed as regular employees (20,000 people after FY2018) Establish the website Distribute information of Review and revise of the Review and revise based on the status of use of the site The status of use of relearning the site through Hallow contents information site Work Item 7. Development of Environment where Women and Young People Can Actively Work and Item 8. Support for Job Switching to an Industry with High Employment Absorbing Power and Reemployment, Human Resource Development, and Enhancement of Education not to Fix the Economic Gap (14) Support for Individual Re-Learning Such as Female Re-current Education and Enhancement of Vocational Training (Part 2) [Challenges from the workers’ viewpoint] The education and training costs per person in private companies are in [Specific Measures] a downward trend. (Increase re-current courses for women) ・Educational costs at private companies • For expanding re-current courses held in universities to nationwide, we will collaborate with the industrial world and local pub lic bodies to ¥1,670/person/month (1991) to ¥1,038/person/month (2011) develop and disseminate a model of curriculum and employment support system, create a new course, and enhance practical qualified courses for A half of working adults wish to receive re-education. For this purpose, vocational training program. We will also create a new qualification system for short-term courses in which women during the child care period they want to have a support for schooling expenses and enhancement of programs for working adults. can easily participate, and consider to grant the educational training benefits for people participating in such courses. ・Students with full-time job (people at 25 yrs. old or older who participate in a • In the re-current education for women, we will promote a program in collaboration with corporations such as internship and on -site training at a baccalaureate degree program: 2.5% (in 2016) company. We will also increase the number of job-placement centers for mothers and do a pilot project in collaboration with universities that (OECD average: 16.7% (in 2014)) ・Male and female at 20 yrs. old or older who “have received or wish to receive re- have conducted the re-current education courses and expand these activities to nationwide. education”: 49.4% • For developing an environment where participants of a re-current education course can use a nursing service, we will encourage universities that ・Efforts to provide an environment where working adults can receive the re- conduct a re-current education course to use a corporate-led nursing business and cooperate with nearby nursery schools. education: • We will increase training courses with a nursery service and provide a training for women who used to work as a childcare or a nurse for their re- “Economic support such as support for schooling expenses” 46.1% “Enhancement of programs for working adults that help to be employed or obtain a employment (i.e. Hello Training). qualification” 35.0% (Expand educational training by corporations) “Provide courses on Saturdays, Sundays, national holidays, and night hours”: 34.0% • We will support the development of human resources who can contribute to the improvement of productivity of SMEs by a tailor-made training The re-current education courses attract attention and help women based on the good cases at advanced companies. We will also collect advanced cases for career development of employees and r aise who resigned from a company for child care receive a re-education and consciousness among management people by giving an award. resume working. • “Everyone can start again regardless of age and circumstances. I have experienced (Enhance vocational education by establishing a specific university for systematic career development education and practical vocational training) many things during the child-care period that contribute to my working career.” • For fostering workers who have a practical business skill, we will enhance a career development education and vocational training from the (commented by a woman who was a house wife and resumed workingafter childhood to the higher education in a systematic manner. Additionally, we will consider the future plan on higher education to respond to the receiving a re-current education) • “It was a good opportunity for me to think about myself again and be prepared for future human resource needs. We will develop materials for students and teachers that can consistently be used from a elementary school to a resume working. If a house wife would submit a CV to a company, it is very hard to high school, and deliver them to all the children. We will also support entrepreneur experience and modeling of local business establishment. be employed. I was introduced to a company duringthe re-current education • We will make further efforts to promote diversified and effective internship by collecting good examples and dissemination th ereof and preparing course that resulted in my re-employment” (Commented by awoman who did a a guidebook home business during the child-care period and was employed after taking a re- current education course) • We will revise the School Education Act to establish a university for business professionals that provides a practical traini ng by developing a teachers, and consider to grant a professional practical training benefit for students of such education. We will also suppo rt to construct a model Due to the forth industrial revolution, as skills required for IT and data processing change, it is necessary to obtain new required skills. that can be used in a university for business professional. FY 2027 or 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Indicators Measures later <> Nationwide expansion and Check needs/establish model Consider and implement further promotional measures and enhance classes Increase the number support for new classes Qualification system of people who was for short-term Expand qualified courses under the practical business program based on the dissemination level and needs of re -current education employed after Increase the programs and short-term qualified courses completing a re- re-current Promote internship by preparing a guidebook and enhance cooperation between job placement current course in a centers for mothers and universities conducting the re-current education Consider further enhancement of employment support university. classes for Increase the number and enhance the functions of job placement center for mothers women Establish a model for Increase the number enhancing nursing Disseminate a model Further support for expanding nursing environment of people who visit a environment job-placement center Enhance a vocational training for women who are caring child for their re-employment for mothers. Expand education and Revise as the progress of the measures Support human resource development in SMEs with a new training system Increase the training by private participation rate of companies Disseminate and promote the “Good Career Corporation Award” vocational training by high school students Conduct research for preparing educational materials Deliver educational materials to all the students Take necessary measures depending on the situation who belong to a Enhance vocational Establish a model of entrepreneur experience activities and disseminate the activities nationwide comprehensive course. training by promoting Revise the official teaching a systematic career guideline Implement a new official teaching guideline (from FY 2018 for kindergartens, from FY2020 for elementary schools, from FY 2021for junior high schools; and from FY 2022 for high schools) The number of education and Revise the business professional establishing a business School Chartering Establish a business professional universities that have professional university Education Act procedures Revise as the progress of the measures opened university Support to prepare curriculum in collaboration with private companies Item 7. Development of Environment Where Women and Young People Can Actively Work (15) Promotion of diversified working style by women such as development of environment where part-time female workers do not need to adjust their working hours and re-employment as a permanent worker (Part 1) [Challenges from the workers’ viewpoint] Some part-time workers adjust their working hours to [Direction of future actions] continue receiving a benefit from the taxation, social security system, and allowance paid by its spouse’s We will develop an environment where women with various experience such as child care and care for the elders can actively company. participate and work by enhancing support for women who resigned from a company due to child care to be newly employed (in 2011) also support fostering female leaders. ・Not to exceed the limitation for marital deduction: 37.7% ・Not to exceed the dependent requirements (<1.3 million) under the health insurance and employee pension systems: 49.3% [Specific Measures] ・To continue receiving the spouse allowance: 20.6% (Develop a system under which part-time female workers do not need to adjust their working hours) If a female permanent worker resigns from a company • We will raise the income limit for marital deduction to ¥1.5 million from ¥1.03 million to allow short-time workers not to for child care, she is frequently forced to be re- adjust their working hours. For highlighting younger generations and child -caring households, we will consider reform of the employed as a part-timer. • Women who resigned from a company due to child birth or child care: income tax structure, including how to position the personal income tax in the entire taxation system and how to allocate Approximately 50% (in 2015) taxation burdens in a precise manner. • Re-employment of ex-permanent female workers who resigned from a company at the time of marriage • We will smoothly expand the coverage of social security to short -time workers. We will continue discussing matters (Permanent) 12% (Non-permanent) 88% (in 2015) necessary for further expansion of coverage by September 2019 and take necessary measures based on the result of the Although some companies have a system to re-employ discussion. ex-permanent female workers when their child care • Income limitation for the spouse allowance by private companies is one of the reasons for adjusting working hours. We will gets easier, it has not been spread yet. promote both workers and employers to discuss this issue in a faithful manner to find a solution. We will also consider how • Companies that have an re-employment system for ex-workers: 12% (in to change the spouse allowance for government officials and take necessary measures steadily. 2012) (Promote the re-employment of female ex-permanent workers who resigned from a company due to child care) Although the number of female workers has increased • For disclosing information on private companies that have a re -employment system, we will create a new item on the job- in the past four years, which loosen the so-called M- application offer cared and ask companies to report whether they have a re -employment system when they register to a job- shaped curve, there are still many women who want to placement center for recruitment. We will also consider including this information as information subject to mandatory resume working when their child care gets easier. • The number of female workers in the past four years: Increased by 1.5 disclosure under the Act on Promotion of Women’s Participation and Advancement in the Workplace . We will establish a million (from 2012 to 2015) subsidy system to support companies that introduce a re -employment system and employ ex-workers. • Women who are non-labor force but want to work: 2.74 million (in 2016) • Of these, women at the age from 25 to 44 yr. old : 1.36 million (49.6%) FY 2027 or 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Indicators Measures later Develop a system Revise the marital deduction system and apply a new system under which part- time female Consider further expanding the coverage of social security Take necessary measures based on the discussion result workers do not need to adjust the Decrease the Disseminate information to concerned groups by revising a leaflet number of female working hours on the spouse allowance provided by a company Continue information dissemination and consider further measures based on the progress workers who adjust their working hours Promote re- Visualize the existence of employment of female re-employment system in Promote disclosure of information on a working style and women’s participation in each workers who resigned Create and use a subsidiary system the job-offer application from a company due to company card child care Item 7. Development of Environment Where Women and Young People Can Actively Work (15) Promotion of diversified working style by women such as development of environment where part-time female workers do not need to adjust their working hours and re-employment as a permanent worker (Part 2) [Challenges from the workers’ viewpoint] [Specific Measures] To make it easier for women who wish to (Visualize information on women’s participation and promote the women’s active work) start/resume working to obtain necessary • For information disclosure by companies pursuant to the Act on Women’s Participation and Advancement in the information, it is necessary to further Workplace (the “WPAW Act”), we will consider what kind of revision is required for systems and regulations to visualize information on women’s ensure the publication of necessary information such as working hours and the ratio of male workers who obtain participation in the work place. the childcare leave, and the adequacy of the disclosed information. • We will construct a one-stop site that enables to obtain work place information on companies where women and The ratio of female workers who are at a young people can actively participate and work, and promote the use of the site by ESG investors, corporations, leader position is low. and job seekers. • Ratio of female workers who are at the manager • We will share good examples of changing the working style using authorization systems such as the System for position or higher in private companies:10.3% • Ratio of female officers in the listed companies: Authorizing Companies Focusing on Active Work of Females under the WPAW Act (“Eruboshi)”, the System for 3.4% Authorizing Companies Focusing on Child Care under the Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising • Ratio of female government officials who are at the Next-Generation Children (“Kurumin”), and the System for Authorizing Companies Focusing on Active Work by manager position or higher in the Ministry: 4.1% Young People under the Act on the Promotion of the Employment of Young People (“Youth Yell”). (Promote a procurement system that highly values the work-life balance status) • We will ask not only the government and independent administrative agencies but also local public authorities, the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and private companies to give a preferential treatment to companies that have pursued better work-life balance when procuring raw materials and parts. (Foster female leaders) • We will disseminate the female leader fostering model program and support a leader training system for female officer candidates. We will also motivate the top management of private companies to realize an environment where women can actively participate and work. • We will enhance supports for active working by women such as a support of female entrepreneurs. FY 2027 or 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Indicators Measures later Visualize and Promote the dissemination of information on companies where women actively Increase the average work (such as the use of database and disseminate information to smart phones) Promote disclosure of information on women’s working style and number of items in the promote the use Consider and implement measures that promote the disclosure of information on advancement in private companies information disclosure of information for women’s participation and advancement (such as the revision of the WPAW Act) on working style and active women’s advancement participation by Construct a site Review and improve the site based on the actual use of the site Target rate of female women Share good examples managers: 15% in private companies; 7% Promote better work- Use the procurement by the government and independent administrative agencies as a means for promoting better work -life balance in government agencies life balance through Ask the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and private companies to participate in this action (in 2020) public procurement Disseminate a model program nationwide and Conduct a necessary review based on the progress of female leader promotion in private companies, and Rate of female officers Foster female promote advanced actions continue supporting actions by individual companies in the listed companies: leaders 5% at an early stage, Motivate the top management to progress the women’s participation and advancement Enhance entrepreneur supports and then 10% (in 2020) Item 7. Development of Environment Where Women and Young People Can Actively Work (16) Promotion of Support and System Establishment for Active Work by the Employment Ice Age Generation and Young People [Challenges from the workers’ viewpoint] [Direction of future actions] The number of job-hopping part timers at 35 to 44 We will give an intensive support to help the employment ice age generation be a permanent worker, and a continuous support in education and years old is still high of 600 thousand. working to high school dropouts and socially withdrawn young people for their employment and independence. We will also provide various 2014: 610 K, 2015: 570 K, 2016: 600 K employment opportunities to change a single-mode career path in Japan. Many people who failed to be a permanent employee [Specific measures] in the Employment Ice Age (early 1990’s to early 2000’s) (Support to the employment ice age generation) tend to continue an unstable working style. • For helping people who were in the employment ice age during their recruitment period and are still working as a job-hopping part-timer  The number of unemployed young people (*) increased in the recruitment periods of the employment ice age generation. become a permanent worker, we will give an intensive support depending on the individual situation by conducting a short-term intensive 400 K in 1996 ; 480 K in 1999; 640 K in 2002 seminar, supporting their recruitment activities at job-placement centers for the youth, and creating a subsidy system for employers. (570 K in 2016) (*) Non-working labor force at 15 to 34 years old who neither do • We will change the Employment Insurance Act to increase the number of days for paying the basic benefit to young people who resigned household affairs nor go to school. from a company due to bankruptcy and employment termination.  No. of people in the employment ice age generation who want to be a (Support for employment and independence to high school dropouts) permanent worker (in 2015) Completely unemployed people: 270 K; Non-working labor force: • We will construct a model of educational consultation and support at a library that helps high school dropouts to acquire the high school 150 K completion status. Additionally, we will establish a supporting system by enhancing collaboration among the board of education, schools, and local youth support stations and providing a continuous support for employment and independence. High school dropouts have a disadvantage in (Promote to provide various employment opportunities) recruitment and career development. • For promoting the introduction of a system that enables to work in an area requested by a job seeker, we will revise the guideline of the  Rate of students receiving tentative job offers (in 2016) New high school graduates: approximately 90% <--> New junior high Act on the Promotion of the Employment of Young People and make a request to the business community. We will also support the school graduates: approximately 30% internship conducted by local companies for students who come to the Tokyo area from their hometown for studying, and assist local  Rate of high school dropouts who think that the high school recruitment activities to promote local employment of the students. completion status is necessary (in 2010): 78.4% (Enhance monitoring of companies that are suspected to “dispose” young workers) There are insufficient local companies that can employ • We will revise the Employment Security Act that enables the job-placement centers and employment agencies not to accept all the university graduates who want to work in their recruitment requests made by companies that repeatedly violate certain labor-related laws and regulations. Additionally, for business hometown. *TSE 1st section listed companies operators that provide recruitment information, we will prepare an operational guideline that prohibits the operators not to provide the  Rate of university graduates who want to be employed by a company requirement information that is different from the actual working conditions, and also establish laws that enable the government to give located their hometown (in 2017) : 65%  Rate of companies that have a limited area employment:19.4% (*) instructions as necessary.  Rate of companies that have a area-specific employment • We will thoroughly disseminate information on labor-related laws and a contact point for consultation and red-flag notice to students in system: :9.4% (*) collaboration between the Labor Bureau and high schools/universities. We will also ask business operators who provide requirement information to fully understand and comply with working rules that protect workers. FY 2027 or 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Indicators Measures later Employment support for [Packaged support to become a permanent worker] Rate of young workers (25 to 34 yrs. old) who are the employment ice age involuntarily part timers: Add seminars, employment support, and subsidy menu Promote permanent worker employment of young people who are involuntarily non-permanent workers generation 28.4% (average in 2014) [Promote parallel running-type child/youth local support package]  Reduce the rate to 1/2in Support for employment 2020 and independence for Establish a local model Continuous support system to provide education Disseminate the model to nationwide high school drop-outs consultation and support Establish a local mode Target rate of high school dropouts who use the Results learning consultation service of the Revise Request to the business community discussion the and group guideline Consider the revision of the Act on the Promotion of the Employment of Young People  participate inthe Collaborative project for examination for entering a Promote various supporting local recruitment activities high school or the employment examination of high school Conduct a measure for returning workers to local areas completion status : 80% in FY opportunities using internship by local companies Promote necessary measures based on the operational review of the business 2019  pass the examination for Establish a system to support local employment for new high school completion graduates using job-placement centers for new graduates Further promote the local employment of young workers as a permanent worker status: 30% in FY 2019 Enhance and disseminate education Actively use the education programs and Double the No. of companies Disseminate labor- programs and a portal site about that accept participants of the labor-related laws for students the portal site for labor-related laws Further promote measures to disseminate and learn labor-related laws internship for regional related laws revitalization (6,441 in 2016) Enhance and disseminate the hotline to consult about working conditions in 2020 Item 8. Support for Job Switching to an Industry with High Employment Absorbing Power and Reemployment, Human Resource Development, and Enhancement of Education not to Fix the Economic Gap (17) Establishment of guidelines for increasing job switching and employment opportunities for people wishing to be re-employed, support of accepting employers, and visualization of vocational capability and work place information [Challenges from the workers’ viewpoint] [Direction of future actions] The job switching rate and accession rate of general For expanding job switching and re-employment opportunities, it is important to establish a flexible labor market and company practice that are workers is low. not to the disadvantage of job switching. We will prepare a guideline to promote diversified selection criteria regardless of age and expand the • General workers: 8.5%; part timers: 17.2% (in 2015) employment opportunities, as well as intensively give support to the job switching from the matured industries to growing industries. There are various barriers for workers who plan to Additionally, we will support management reform of and local return of workers to local companies by opening a specific section in a job- switch a job. placement center for the purpose of supporting the job matching to higher employment absorbing industries. We will also make efforts to • Many of both male and female workers say that “There is only a few visualize the vocational capability and workplace information. companies to be applied” and “I am concerned about a new work place”. Additionally, “Declining salary” is a major issue for male workers and “Insufficient skill” is for female workers (in 2016) [Specific Measures] (Establish a guideline to expand opportunities for people who wish to switch the job or is re-employed) Companies that have experience to employ middle- • For diversifying the selection criteria and expanding the employment opportunity regardless of age, we will establish a guideline to encourage the acceptance and old-aged workers tend to be interested in of job switchers and make a request to the business community. We will also support a collaborative practical program between a private company and a employing them again, but companies that have no university by preparing a guidebook on internship for people who wish to switch a job or be re-employed, as well as support the accepting employers. such experience tend to have less interest. (Job switching support to growing industries) • Interest of companies to employ middle- and old-aged workers • We will support private companies that establish fair evaluation and treatment rules for job switchers, or start employing middle- and old-age people , or expand the employment of job switchers or the re-employment, and improve the productivity. We will also expand a support to companies that raise the • Experienced: 66.1%; No experience: 34.9% (in 2013) salary of job switchers who moved to a growing industry from a matured industry. In the job switching market, the older a job seeker is, • If a person who received the unemployment insurance benefit succeed to be re-employed earlier but his/her salary is down, we will pay the amount the harder he/she switches the job or the lower equivalent to such reduced salary up to six months from the job starter allowance under the Unemployment Insurance. his/her salary in a new company is. (Give human resource support to local SMEs and support the job matching to higher employment absorbing industries) • Job switching rate by age (No. of job switchers or newly employed/No. • We will check the insufficient worker areas by type of job, and also understand a mid-term trend. of permanent workers as of January 1) is lower as the age category is • We will provide a support at professional human resource strategy centers in each prefecture for management reform and accept ance of people in the higher. metropolitan area or double workers at local SMEs. (25 to 34 yrs. old: 7.1%; 35 to 44 yrs. old: 4.3%; 45 to 54 yrs. old: 3.2%; • We will open a specific comprehensive section in job-placement centers located in a place that needs to have more job seekers, and support the job matching 55 to 64 yrs. old: 3.6%; 65 yrs. old or older: 1.9%) (in 2015) in collaboration with industry associations. We will also enhance the collaboration with business groups and disseminate information on such activities in the • When we look at the salary level, the older the age category is, the higher the ratio of people whose salary declines after job switching. secondment/transfer coordination business at the Industrial Employment Stabilization Center. (40 to 49 yrs. old: 28%; 50 to 59 yrs. old: 33%; 60 yrs. old or older: 61%) (Visualization of vocational capability and work place information) (in 2015) • We will establish a research group that checks and discusses various vocational information such as the details of jobs, requ ired knowledge, capability, and Although the employment condition has steadily skill of the job, and the average income, particularly about growing industries such as AI, in collaboration with concerned ministries/agencies and private entities, and then prepare a site (Japanese version O-Net) that can comprehensively provide information including the required qualification. At the same time, improved in general, we see imbalance in some areas, we will also create a one-stop site with which people can check the information on corporations where women and young people can actively participate and leading to mismatching. work. • Active opening ratio exceeds one in all the prefectures (as of January • We will make an estimate of the supply-demand trend of workers of which demand is expected to increase, and clarify the required capability and skills. We 2017). • Active opening ratio by type of job: 7.13 times in Maintenance; 3.66 will also fully revise the IT skill criteria to fulfill the requirements of new types of workers and technologies that are ex pected to be a mainstream such as data times in Construction/Mining; 3.50 times in Caring; 3.21 times in analysis by the end of FY 2017 Service (as of January 2017) • We will expand the skill test to job types in higher employment absorbing industries and reduce the test fee for young people. FY 2027 or 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Indicators Measures later Establish a guideline to Discussion Establish a increase employment of Meeting guideline Request to the business community Revise depending on the progress job switching and re- Prepare an internship guidebook for job switching and re-employment, and support accepting employers Consider further measures depending on the progress Increase the number of employment young people who <> Support job switching to participate in the skill tests Expand subsidies Evaluate and review based on the PDCA cycle by 10% from 2016 (to 2020). growing industries Support the employment of professional workers in the metropolitan area local SMEs with assistance from Revise as necessary based on the evaluation of measures and continue promoting necessary measures Increase the employment Give ahuman resource support professional human resource strategic centers rate of job switchers and the to local SMEs, and promote the Establish a dedicated comprehensiv esection for hiring workers and providingservices newly employed to 9% (of job matching tohigher For secondment/transfer business, establish a system to Revise depending on the progress the general workers except employment absorbing collaborate with the business groups, enhance the information for part timers) by 2018 industries collection capability, and disseminate information on such activities (8.5% in 2015) Research/ Design and Start the operation of Start the study group Update and revise the data based on the operational status Increase the number of analysis develop a DB the Japanese O-NET Establish a consultation cases at Visualize vocational comprehensive workplace Update and revise the data based on the operational status information provision site professional human resource capability and work Clarify capabilities and skills required by the industrial world and estimate the supply-demand trend of human strategic centers to 50,000 resources as a result of the fourth industrial revolution by the human resource development conference, and Revise depending on the operational status by 2020. place information promote the human resource development and education to respond to the fourth industrial revolution Develop an environment to promote the “Visualization” of vocational capability Revise depending on the implementation status Item 8. Support for Job Switching to an Industry with High Employment Absorbing Power and Reemployment, Human Resource Development, and Enhancement of Education not to Fix the Economic Gap (18) Development of Educational Environment Where Everyone Has a Opportunity in Education Such as the Creation of Benefit-Type Scholarship (Part 1) [Challenges from the workers’ viewpoint] [Direction of future actions] We will provide an environment where all the children can go to a high school, vocational school or university regardless of the household Wish to receive education regardless of the economic condition. As Japan has ratified the International Covenants on Human Rights that prescribe to gradually provide a higher education free household economic condition of charge, with finding sufficient financial resources, we will promote a measure to mitigate the economic burden incurred by a household due to  Rate of high school graduates who go to a university (by a higher education, and support all the children who wish to receive a higher education. We will enhance the scholarship program such as household income level) : 62.4% establishing a bene fit-type non-repayable s cholarship, as well as provide a continuous fina ncial support from the childhood to t he higher e ducation. <¥4 million or lower> 27.8% At the same time, we will expand vestments in children who lead the future by solving a achievement problem due to poverty at the compulsory  Rate of high school graduates who go to a education period, and prepare an educational environment where the economic gap is not fixed and everyone has an opportunity college/university (by type of household) 73.2% 41.6% 31.7% 23.3% [Specific Measures]  Monthly average living costs of a university/college (Create a benefit-type scholarship program) student ¥94 K ¥173 K • We will create a benefit-type scholarship and grant ¥20,000 to ¥40,000 per month to 20,000 students in low income households who receive a  Students who are qualified but not have received a zero-interest higher education depending on the nature of school (public or private) or the living place (go to school from home or lodging ). For students scholarship: approximately 24 K (in 2016) whose household economic condition is extremely severe, we will start the program in advance in FY 2017 with full-fledged implementation for students who enter a school in FY 2018. In a situation where the relative poverty ratio • For the zero-interest scholarship, we will solve the problem that qualified students cannot receive it, and substantially remove the declines that indicates the economic gap, achievement criteria to students of which household is low income, allowing all the children who need a scholarship to receiv e the scholarship. education can play an important role to • For the repayment of lending-type scholarship, we will introduce a system to link the repayment amount with the income level after prevent fixing the economic gap beyond the graduating the school for students who enter a school in and after FY 2017, and extend the repayment amount reduction system to graduates generations. who have already started the repayment, significantly reducing the repayment burden.  Relative poverty rate: 10.1% (in 2009) to 9.9% (in 2014) (Mitigate the education cost burden) Relative poverty rate of children: 9.9% (in 2009) to 7.9% (in 2014)  Life-time salary by academic background (Male, by retirement, • We will also make efforts to mitigate the education cost burden by providing the childhood education free of charge gradually with ensuring including the retirement allowance) sufficient financial resources, granting benefits to students of both public and private school during the compulsory education period and ¥ 320.3 million scholarship benefits to high school students, and reducing/exempting a tuition of a university. ¥244.9 million  Achievement level of students at the 6th grade of elementary (Enhancement of educational environment to ensure a certain level of achievement) school (Average % of correct answer by household income level> • We will solve the achievement problem due to poverty by improving the school teaching capability and the quality of teachers, and <¥15 million or higher> Japanese A (75.5%); Math A (85.6%) Japanese A (53.0%); Math A (67.2%) collaborating with the local community and schools. We will also improve classes for improving the quality of knowledge and understanding achieved by children, ensuring a certain level of achievement at the elementary and secondary education stage and raising lea rning motivation among children. FY 2027 or 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Indicators Measures later [Create a benefit-type scholarship program] Start the system in advance for students of which household economic Full-fledged implementation Check the progress and revise as necessary Create a condition is extremely severe benefit-type [Increase zero-interest scholarship] Solve a problem that qualified scholarship students cannot receive the Raise a percentage scholarship. Remove the Grant to all the qualified students achievement criteria of students with program [Introduce a system to link the repayment amount with income level] low income Revise as necessary depending on the operational status household who go Start the system to high level (Free of charge childhood schools education) Mitigate the education cost burden Mitigate the education Second child in a household of which local income tax is nontaxable, (Gradually Introduce a free of charge childhood education, grant benefits to students of both public and private schools during the compulsory cost burden and reduce the burden incurred by households of which annual income education period and scholarship benefits to high school students, and reduce/exempt a tuition of a university) is less than ¥3.6 million Improve the education environment Enhance the education environment such as improving the school teaching capability at the elementary and secondary school stage to ensure a certain level of achievement and the quality of teachers in collaboration between a university and the board of education Item 8. Support for Job Switching to an Industry with High Employment Absorbing Power and Reemployment, Human Resource Development, and Enhancement of Education not to Fix the Economic Gap (18) Development of Educational Environment Where Everyone Has a Opportunity in Education Such as the Creation of Benefit-Type Scholarship (Part 2) [Challenges from the workers’ viewpoint] [Specific Measures] Want to prevent generating an (Develop an environment to support learning by children by the entire society) economic gap due to truancy or • We will revise laws to prepare an environment for local-school collaboration to allow that all the children dropping out can pursue their own dream regardless of household economic condition. We will also increase local  Jobs of high school dropouts (in 2012) preparatory schools to support learning free of charge in principle , and provide a learning support after 41.6% of the high school dropouts work as a job- school and Saturdays. We will use a library to fill the reading gap, and promote a visiting-style home hopping part timer. The rate of permanent employee is only 7.7%. education support activity.  Students who were truant tend to have a problem (Guarantee opportunity in education to truant students in a elementary and junior high schools ) in schooling and working. • Based on the Act to Guarantee Opportunity in Education that was enacted in December 2016, we will The percentage of students who were truant at the increase the number of school counsellors and school social workers, expand the establishment of third grade of junior high school and: go to a high education support centers nationwide, and enhance the education consultation capability. We will also school is 85.1% (General: 98.7%); drop out a high school: 14.0% (General: 1.4%); go to a university : give a support to children who study at the outside of the school such as a free school and establish a 22.8% (General: 54.7%); are neither in education night-hour junior high school. nor employment: 18.1% (General: 7.0%) FY 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 or later Indicators Measures [Promote the local-school collaboration activities nationwide] Cover all the elementary Develop an and junior high school environment to Consider and conduct additional assistance to systems and financial resources based on the follow-up status and progress after the enactment for further dissemination and promotion zones by FY 2022 to Hold a meeting to promote the local-school support learning explain laws and collaboration activities. systems Disseminate the guideline and case reports by children by the Establish a Free-of-charge entire society Enhance a learning support in cooperation with local community (free-of-charge local preparatory schools, after-school class for children, activities to fill the reading gap) preparatory schools in 5,000 junior high school zones by the end of FY School counsellors (SC): 2019, and expand support to high school students Elementary/Junior High: 25,500 schools nationwide. (in FY 2016) to 27,500 schools Realize proper allocation as a professional in school such as extension of working time (for SC and SSW) By 2020, raise the Guarantee School social workers (SSW): percentage of truants in 3,000 (in FY 2016) to 10,000 elementary and junior opportunity high schools who receive consultation at school or in education other places to the level Conduct a to truant research on Expand the establishment of education support centers nationwide and allocate SCs at the education support centers that is expected to satisfy the needs for consultation guaranteeing by all the truants who students opportunity in wish to receive it education at the (approximately 80.0% that outside of the is estimated based on the school Consider and conduct measures to support children who study at the outside of the school such as a free school survey in FY 2014). (73.1% in FY 2015) Item 9. Promotion of Employment of the Elderly (19) Support of Extension of Continuous Employment and Retire Age, and Support of Job Matching for the Elderly (Part 1) [Challenge from the workers’ viewpoint] [Direction of future actions] Although nearly 70% of the elderly wish to work after We will position the period by FY 2020 as the intensive support period for extending continuous employment to the age after 65 years old and 65 yrs. old, the percentage of people who “want to raising the retirement age to 65 years old, and prepare an environment for gradually raising the age limit for continuous employment. work but cannot” is significantly high among people Additionally, we will promote the career change and a “non-employed” working style to continue working regardless of age, as well as provide at 65 yrs. old or older various kinds of working opportunities to the elderly who wish to work by enhancing the employment support to prevent the elderly from falling  The elderly who wish to work after 65 yrs. old: 65.9% (in 2013) into financial difficulty.  Employment rate of people at 65 yrs. old or older: 22.3% (in 2016)  No. of employees at 60 yrs. old or older 8.47 million (in 1996) to 9.37 million (in 2006) to 12.86 million (in [Specific Measures] 2016) (Prepare an environment to extend continuous employment)  % of people who want to be employed to the total of employed people and people who want to be employed: • We will position the period by FY 2020 as the intensive support period for the extension of continuous employment to the age after 65 60 to 64 yrs. old: 15%; 65 to 69 yrs. old: 22%; 70 to 74 yrs. old: 27% years old by companies, for the purpose of raising the age limit for continuous employment in the future, and enhance a subs idy for extending continuous employment after 65 years old and raising the retirement age to 65 years old. We will also prepare a manual to The ideal working style for the elderly is “Non- teach how to implement the continuous employment and show good examples, as well as visit companies for consultation and assistance. permanent” (70 to 80%), and the expected monthly • We will check the incentive effect and actual condition of the elderly employment in FY 2020, and review the systems for the extension of salary is “Less than 100,000 yen” (more than 50%). continuous employment.  % of the elderly who want to be a “non-permanent” worker (in 2015) 60 to 64 yrs. old: 79%; 65 to 69 yrs. old: 80%; 70 to 74 yrs. old: 70%  % of the elderly who want to earn “less than ¥100 K” (in 2015) (Promote the career change by job matching) 60 to 64 yrs. old: 48%; 65 to 69 yrs. old: 58%; 70 to 74 yrs. old: 59% • At job-placement centers, we will explore more employment opportunities with a shorter working hours that can be applied by the elderly at 65 years old or older. We will also visualize companies where people can work under fair evaluation based on the performance The percentage of people who start up a “Self- regardless of age in the job-offer application card. We will construct a job matching network nationwide for people who wish to work in employed business” and “are at 60 years old or local areas by U-turn (people returning to hometowns), I-turn (people moving from urban regions to rural regions), and J-turn (people older” significantly increases moving from urban regions to a middle-size rural town near hometowns) in collaboration between job-placement centers and concerned  % of people who start up a “self-employed business” and at “60 years old or older” local people such as economic groups. 8% (in 1982) to 14% (in 1992) to 25% (in 2002) to 32% (in 2012) (Promote a “Non-employed” working style) To prevent the elderly from falling into financial • We will enhance the employment subsidy when the elderly start up a self-employed business, and encourage the business start-up as a difficulty, detailed employment support is required. part of efforts by local various organizations to create working opportunity for the elderly. We will enhance the job matching between people retired from a pharmaceutical company and medical venture companies. • Promote various social participation through the “Human Resource Center for the Elderly” and volunteer activities in parallel with encouraging a healthy life and taking measures to prevent frailty. FY 2027 or 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Indicators Measures later Prepare an Prepare an environment to extend continuous employment age limit in the future environment to extend continuous << Intensive period for the extension of continuous employment and raising the retirement age>> Prepare an environment employment Check the to extend the incentive effect continuous employment Enhance subsidies, prepare a manual, provide and actual age limit in the future. Promote consultation and assistance by visiting companies, and condition of the continuous collect/disseminate good examples that realize both elderly “Employment of the elderly” and “Activation of the Open a consultation site employment employment, entire company including young people”. and review the for lifetime working systems for support to 300 by 2020. Ask companies to promote re-employments, give a job extending Promote the career continued Take measures based on the discussions Increase the network to matching support, give a matching support to companies change by job that fairly evaluate people based on the performance employment 100 by 2020 to create regardless of age, and construct a nationwide matching and raising the local employment matching network retirement age opportunity for the elderly. Promote the business start-up, and do a job matching using the Human Resource Center for the Elderly Promote a “Non- Enable all the elderly Enhance Check and review using the PDCA Cycle who want to work to employed” subsidy have a job. working style Support a job matching between a pharmaceutical retiree and medical Check the implementation status in a meeting by people from the industry, public, and academic worlds annually, and review as necessary venture companies Item 9. Promotion of Employment of the Elderly (19) Support of Extension of Continuous Employment and Retire Age, and Support of Job Matching for the Elderly (Part 2) [Challenge from the workers’ viewpoint] [Specific Measures] Although nearly 70% of the elderly wish to work after (Enhance an employment s upport for the elderly to prevent them from falling into financial difficulty) 65 yrs. old, the percentage of people who “want to work but cannot” is significantly high among people • Enha nce an employment support in collaboration with concerned entities such as local government, job-placement at 65 yrs. old or older center, and human resource center for the elderly. Promote a tailor-made employment support under the Act on  The elderly who wish to work after 65 yrs. old: 65.9% (in 2013)  Employment rate of people at 65 yrs. old or older: 22.3% (in 2016) Sel f-Support of Needy People (review measures after three years from the enactment of the Act on Self-Support of  No. of employees at 60 yrs. old or older Needy People (in 2018)). 8.47 million (in 1996) to 9.37 million (in 2006) to 12.86 million (in 2016)  % of people who want to be employed to the total of employed people and people who want to be employed: 60 to 64 yrs. old: 15%; 65 to 69 yrs. old: 22%; 70 to 74 yrs. old: 27% The ideal working style for the elderly is “Non- permanent” (70 to 80%), and the expected monthly salary is “Less than 100,000 yen” (more than 50%).  % of the elderly who want to be a “non-permanent” worker (in 2015) 60 to 64 yrs. old: 79%; 65 to 69 yrs. old: 80%; 70 to 74 yrs. old: 70%  % of the elderly who want to earn “less than ¥100 K” (in 2015) 60 to 64 yrs. old: 48%; 65 to 69 yrs. old: 58%; 70 to 74 yrs. old: 59% The percentage of people who start up a “Self- employed business” and “are at 60 years old or older” significantly increases  % of people who start up a “self-employed business” and at “60 years old or older” 8% (in 1982) to 14% (in 1992) to 25% (in 2002) to 32% (in 2012) To prevent the elderly from falling into financial difficulty, detailed employment support is required. FY 2027 or 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Indicators Measures later Prepare an environment to extend the continuous employment age limit in the future. Open a consultation site Enhance an for lifetime working Discussions (including employment support to 300 by 2020. submission of a revised support to prevent Act on Self-Support of Implement measures based on the discussions the elderly from Increase the network to Needy People and falling into financial 100 by 2020 to create discussions at the Diet) difficulty local employment opportunity for the elderly. Enable all the elderly who want to work to have a job.