Labor + Social Insurance                        Laws and Regulations

The Labor Standards Act is one of a representative labor laws that protects workers.  The Act sets minimum standards for working conditions. It applies not only to so-called full-time regular employees, but also to all employees including part-time workers and fixed-term workers.

Even if an agreement is made in a labor contract that falls below the standard set by the Labor Standards Act, such part of an agreement will be deemed naturally invalid by law, and will be replaced by the standard set by the Labor Standards Act. (Forced and straightforward effect). In addition, criminal penalties (fines, imprisonment) are stipulated to be imposed for a large part of acts violating the Labor Standards Act. 

Jurisdiction: Local Labor Standards Inspection Office 

The Ordinance for Enforcement of the Labor Standards Act stipulates the detailed contents of the Labor Standards Act to support the interpretation of the Labor Standards Act. In actual labor administration, the Ordinance for Enforcement of the Labor Standards Act is valued especially in the interpretation of the Labor Standards Act.

Jurisdiction: Local Labor Standards Inspection Office 

The Labor Contracts Act came into effect in March 2008 aiming to stabilize individual labor relations by clarifying the basic rules for labor contracts. The Act was introduced under the circumstances that individual labor disputes had been emerging as a result of diversification of employment patterns and upturn of information literacy. Whereas the Labor Standards Act sets standards for working conditions (minimum labor standards) that are guaranteed with penalties, the Labor Contract Act stipulates the basic principle of agreement on labor contracts  and other basic rules that clarifies civil rules regarding labor contracts.

The purpose of the Industrial Safety and Health Act is to secure, in conjunction with the Labor Standards Act, the safety and health of workers in workplaces, as well as to facilitate the establishment of comfortable working environment, by promoting comprehensive and systematic countermeasures concerning the prevention of industrial accidents, such as taking measures for the establishment of standards for hazard prevention, clarifying the safety and health management responsibility and the promotion of    voluntary activities with a view to preventing industrial accidents.

Jurisdiction: Local Labor Standards Inspection Office 

Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act promotes employees' welfare by supporting affected employees and their bereaved families against work accidents and commuting accidents. Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance basically guarantees the employer's liability for work-based accident compensation based on the Labor Standards Act.

Jurisdiction: Local Labor Standards Inspection Office 

The purpose of the Employment Insurance Act is to stabilize the standard of living and employment of workers by providing necessary benefits for workers who are unemployed, who are having trouble continuing employment or who are receiving job-related training, and to facilitate their job-seeking activities, as well as to prevent unemployment, redress the employment situation, increase employment opportunities, develop and improve the capacity of workers, and promote their welfare, so as to contribute to their employment security.

Jurisdiction: Public Employment Security Office (Hello-work)

The purpose of the Health Insurance Act is to provide insurance benefits for sickness, injury or death other than employment injuries (meaning employment injuries as provided for in Article 7, paragraph (1), item (i) of the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act or childbirth of a worker or a dependent thereof, thereby contributing to the stability of lives and the improvement of welfare of the people.

Jurisdiction: Japan Pension Service Branch Office

The purpose of the Employee's Pension Insurance Act is to provide insurance benefits for workers' old-age, disability, and death, so as to contribute to stabilizing the livelihoods and improving the welfare of workers and their surviving family.

Jurisdiction: Japan Pension Service Branch Office

The purpose of this Act is to promote the welfare of workers, etc. who engage in childcare or the caregiving of family members by contributing to the balance of the working and family lives of those workers, etc., through taking steps such as establishing a system for childcare leave, caregiver leave, leave for sick/injured childcare, and leave for caregivers; establishing measures employers must follow regarding scheduled working hours, etc. in order to facilitate childcare and nursing care of family members; establishing measures to support workers who engage in childcare and nursing care of family members; and promoting the continuation of the employment of, and re-employment of those workers, etc., thereby contributing to the development of the economy and society.

Jurisdiction: Prefectural Labor Bureau (child and family policy)