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Japan Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Japan Times
Japan enacts bill to penalize revenge against whistleblowers
Japan's parliament enacted a bill Wednesday to impose criminal penalties for firing or other acts of revenge against whistleblowers in government offices and companies. In a plenary meeting, the House of Councilors, the upper chamber, approved the bill to revise the whistleblower protection law, following its passage at the House of Representatives, the lower chamber, in April. The revised law will come into effect within 18 months of its promulgation. While it is currently prohibited to treat whistleblowers in a disadvantageous way, a new penal provision is expected to enhance the protection of such informers. Under the revised law, a fine of up to ¥30 million will be imposed on companies that dismiss or take disciplinary action against whistleblowers. Individuals who discipline whistleblowers will be subject to a prison term of up to six months or a fine of up to ¥300,000. Personnel transfers for whistleblowers will not be subject to penalties, because it is difficult to prove causal relationships between whistleblowing reports and personnel relocations. Any dismissal or disciplinary action taken within one year of whistleblowing reports will be considered retaliatory. The revised law will also protect freelancers, prohibiting disadvantageous treatment such as suspension of transactions. Currently, companies with more than 300 employees are obliged to have a platform for whistleblowing. The central government will implement guidance and recommendations as needed. The revised law will allow the government to order operators to comply with warnings and impose fines of up to ¥300,000 on those who ignore such orders. Attempts to identify whistleblowers without a legitimate reason and requests for pledges not to be a whistleblower will also be prohibited, in principle, although there will be no penalties.
Japan Times
28-05-2025
- General
- Japan Times
Japan enacts legislation aiming to strengthen disaster preparedness
Parliament on Wednesday enacted legislation to strengthen disaster preparedness and relief measures. In a plenary meeting, the House of Councilors, the upper parliamentary chamber, approved the legislation to revise relevant laws, including the basic law on disaster management, which was compiled based on lessons learned from the Noto Peninsula earthquake in January 2024. It cleared the House of Representatives, the lower chamber, last month. The legislation features the creation of a sub-Cabinet-level post at the Cabinet Office to oversee the country's overall disaster response and play a coordinating role between the central and local governments. Also under the revised laws, a registration system will be established for nonprofit organizations and volunteer groups that provide support for those affected by a disaster. Groups registered with the central government will operate evacuation centers and serve food at the request of the prefectural governor and other authorities in times of disaster. Identifying in normal times organizations that can engage in support activities is expected to ensure quick cooperation in the event of a disaster, and it will also be easier for local governments to accept support. In order to respond to the diverse needs of disaster-affected people, the revised laws stipulate providing welfare services. This is intended to prevent disaster-related deaths, including by improving health care support for older adults who stay outside of evacuation centers, such as in their homes or cars, where support has been scarce. To provide a comfortable evacuation environment from the early stages of a disaster, each municipality will be required to announce the status of its stockpiles of food, toilets, makeshift beds and other supplies once a year.
Japan Times
14-05-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
LDP approves pension reform legislation
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Tuesday approved draft legislation for pension system reform at a meeting of the party's decision-making General Council. The government aims to adopt the legislation at a Cabinet meeting Friday and submit it to the current session of the Diet, the country's parliament. Before the General Council meeting, executives of the LDP and its junior coalition partner, Komeito, held talks, agreeing to work for the enactment of the legislation during the Diet session ending in June. The government originally expected to introduce the legislation in March. But the move has been delayed because the LDP was reluctant to hold Diet debates on pensions, a hot topic, ahead of this summer's election for the House of Councilors, the upper chamber. At the General Council meeting, former digital minister Taro Kono expressed opposition to the legislation as he seeks "radical reform." But he did not oppose its submission to the Diet. Another attendee pointed to the need to listen to the voices of younger people, particularly members of the "ice age" generation who had trouble finding jobs after graduating from schools between around 1993 and 2004, ahead of the Upper House poll. The main pillars of the legislation are expanding the coverage of the kōsei nenkin public pension program for corporate and government workers to include a wider range of part-time workers and reviewing the system of reducing benefits for elderly employees earning certain amounts of income. The LDP planned to include in the legislation a hike in the basic pension benefit level using funds from the financially robust kōsei nenkin program and the state coffers. But it was removed after a series of objections. The basic pension level is likely to be about 30% lower than now by the time when the ice age generation, now in their 40s to 50s, are in their 70s to 80s. Many in the generation face the risk of old-age poverty as they would have to live mainly on the basic pensions after retirement, since many failed to win regular jobs and thus are not eligible for the kōsei nenkin program, which pays benefits that add to the basic pensions. While some LDP lawmakers are reluctant to discuss pensions at the Diet, others have raised questions about the absence of the basic pension hike from the legislation. In the opposition camp, Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, criticized the LDP, saying that the basic pension hike should be the most important element of the pension reform. Reform measures in the legislation "won't relieve people's worries about the future," Yuichiro Tamaki, head of the Democratic Party for the People, said, questioning whether the LDP is seriously thinking about ways to help the ice age generation.
