The Labor Ministry released a report of fiscal 2025 supervision and instruction for companies where excessive working hours were suspected. The report helps understand issues prompting the Labor Standards Inspection Offices to take administrative action. This article looks at the report.
[1] Law violation cases
The report includes records of supervision and instruction given to companies where long working hours were suspected between April 2025 and March 2026.
Among the companies that received the directives, 78.5% were in violation of the Labor Standards Act or other laws. Common cases of violation included “illegal overtime work (38.5%),” “unpaid wages for overtime work (6.5%),” and “failure to implement measures to prevent health impairment due to excessive work (20.3%)”. Described below are cases involving failure to implement measures to prevent health impairment. Since many firms overlook the need to respond in this area, please check if your companies have adequate measures in place.
- Failure to set up a health committee (violation of Article 18, Industrial Safety and Health Act)
- Failure to provide workers with health examination (violation of Article 66, Industrial Safety and Health Act)
- Failure to provide consultation by a physician when requested by workers whose overtime and holiday work exceeded 80 hours a month (violation of Article 66-8, Industrial Safety and Health Act)
- Failure to monitor the situation of working hours by objective or other appropriate means (violation of Article 66-8-3, Industrial Safety and Health Act)
[2] Examples of companies’ voluntary effort to reduce overtime work
The report also shows examples of company efforts in response to supervision and instruction. A maker of cosmetics and bath salts has introduced a Robotic Process Automation system (RPA) and automated more than 200 tasks. The system has helped reduce employees’ work hours significantly and improved work-sharing efficiency. The firm has succeeded in cutting monthly overtime from average 35 hours (2011) to 5 hours 48 minutes (2024).
The Labor Ministry aims to implement further measures to encourage businesses to eliminate overtime work. Particularly, it plans to strengthen supervision during the period of “excessive work elimination campaign” in November. Companies where long working hours have become a common practice are encouraged to see the examples of other firms’ efforts and address the situation.
‘Reference
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, “Report on FY2025 result of supervision on workplaces where long working hours are suspected”
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/newpage_76158.html
*This information is based on laws and regulations as of the date of the original article.
