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Yating Yang

A Japanese town that ordered government employees to arrive five minutes early each day for a meeting has been ordered to pay more than 10 million yen (US$67,000) in back-paid overtime.
The cash settlement for employees has sparked a heated discussion among netizens.
The incident began on February 26, 2021 when 146 government employees in Ginan town, Gifu prefecture, on Japan’s main island Honshu, were required to clock in at 8.25 am.
This was five minutes earlier than their regular start time.
The policy was implemented by former town mayor, Hideo Kojima, who mandated the 146 employees comply from March 1, 2021.

Despite having provided no clear reason for the change Kojima was known for his harsh management style and inappropriate behaviour in the workplace.
For instance, he would rage at subordinates, repeatedly threaten them with disciplinary demotion or dismissal if they did not follow orders.
Kojima denied the accusations but resigned from the position last February, leading to the policy being terminated last March.
However, the employees still believed that working an additional five minutes per working day should be considered overtime.
They filed a complaint to the Japan Fair Trade Commission in December 2023, seeking to claim overtime pay for the past three years.
Last November, the commission ruled in favour of the employees and ordered the town to compensate them a total of more than 10.9 million yen.
On February 28, a supplementary budget proposal was submitted to the town assembly to address the compensation issue, but as of the time of the writing, the allowance has yet to be paid.
According to the World Economic Forum, an international non-governmental organisation, around one in 10 Japanese workers put in more than 80 hours of overtime per month.
The incident, reported by All Nippon News Network, has struck a chord among Japanese netizens, who are fed up with Japan’s overtime working culture.

One online observer said: “In the company I work for there is a mandatory 10-minute meeting during the noon break every day. I think this is obviously illegal. Should we also talk to the Fair Trade Commission?”
“Some companies want employees to have morning meetings, clean up the office, and even do exercises before starting work, but they are all overtime under the law,” said another.
Chinese online observers also expressed their jealousy regarding the compensation.
One person asked: “Wait, a government employee in Japan only needs to work 7 hours and 45 minutes a day?”
Another added: “How do I ‘accidentally’ let my supervisor discover this news?”


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People & Culture

Policy introduced by town’s draconian former mayor is overturned by country’s Fair Trade Commission which orders workers be paid overtime


Policy introduced by town’s draconian former mayor is overturned by country’s Fair Trade Commission which orders workers be paid overtime.


Japan

Japanese public servants win US$67,000 payout over order to arrive at work 5 minutes early

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Policy introduced by town’s draconian former mayor is overturned by country’s Fair Trade Commission which orders workers be paid overtime

Policy introduced by town’s draconian former mayor is overturned by country’s Fair Trade Commission which orders workers be paid overtime