Page 279 - วารสารกฎหมาย ศาลอุทธรณ์คดีชํานัญพิเศษ

ฉบับพิเศษ ประจำ�ปี 2564

Japanese Employment System

in the COVID Era

Caslav Pejovic *

I. Introduction

The COVID-19 virus spread all over the world during 2020-2021 causing not
only health problems, but also disruption of the life of general population and causing
an economic crisis. Japan is not exception, even though it was not hit that hard compared

to the US and Europe. Since March 2020, the economic activity in Japan has been
affected in various ways by the pandemic which had impact on almost every aspect
of life and had the devastating effect on various kinds of business. This raised challenging

issues for both the employers and the employees. As consequence of the COVID-19
induced problems, many businesses are struggling to survive, while their employees
suffer various kinds of hardship. Some employees were able to work remotely, while

some suffered reduction in working hours and cuts of wages, and those the least fortunate
are at risk of losing their jobs.

One of the objectives of this paper is to introduce the way Japan has reacted to
the COVID-19 crisis with main focus on the labor law related issues. In addressing

the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the employment system in Japan, the paper will
analyze the reactions of employers with regard to employment patterns, the changes

in the legal framework, with main focus on the issues related to vulnerability of the
employees under the pandemics arising from reduction of the working hours,
wage cuts, and the risk of dismissal.

* Professor, Kyushu University

277