SoraNews24 —Japan News—

After a man turned himself into police for refusing to pay for his meal, some wondered if he might be mentally ill. On the other hand, some suspect he might be saner than many in Japan.

Japan
(crime • curry • employment • labor • Salaryman)

Survey by Japanese ministry reveals high rates of “maternity harassment” in workplace

Preston Phro
Nov 17, 2015

A new survey conducted by the Japanese government found that nearly half of female temp workers faced discrimination as a result of being or becoming pregnant while in employment.

Japan
(discrimination • employment • maternity • Maternity Harassment • pregnancy • survey • working in Japan)

“Poo curry” restaurant now hiring interns, award-winning Tokyo University grad student applies

Master Blaster
Sep 4, 2015

It’s been about two weeks since Curry Shop Shimizu opened for business in the Chitose-Funabashi area of Tokyo. Considering the only dish they sell is a curry which mimics the taste of human feces, you might expect sales to have been slow.

However, not only is business booming, the demand has become too much for owner and adult film star Shimiken to keep up. As a result he put out an ad for interns to help take his poopy curry to the next level. On top of that, if you thought Curry Shop Shimizu’s fortunes couldn’t get any better, they are attracting top-tier applicants on par with the nation’s leading corporations.

Japan
(curry • Curry Shop Shimizu • employment • feces • food • internship • Ken Shimizu • Shimiken)

5 discriminatory interview questions employers in Japan are no longer allowed to ask

Audrey Akcasu
Aug 3, 2015

For many young people in Japan, August means summer vacation, festivals and free time. For fourth-year university students however, it means time to start interviewing for jobs. The job-hunting process in Japan is long, grueling and very systematic, culminating in interview after interview for the jobless, soon-to-graduate, young adults.

Interviews can be nerve-wracking for even the most experienced candidates, but Japanese companies don’t always ask the most predictable questions. In fact, some of their questions can be downright weird. Many of these oddball interview questions, however, may not actually be legal.

Japan
(culture • discrimination • employment • interview • questions • work)

A surprising number of Japanese youth get most of their income from their parents

KK Miller
Nov 6, 2014

The world economy has taken a pretty big hit since 2007, and every country is doing what it can to recover. Some have been able to do better than others, but for most people, they haven’t gotten back to pre-crash numbers, whatever that may be.

While unemployment numbers have steadily decreased in the US, Japan has its own unique set of economic problems to deal with. With an unemployment rate sitting at 3.6 percent as of September 2014, an entirely different sort of problem is rearing its ugly head here. How can a low unemployment rate cause problems? For that answer, we have to turn to the parents.

Japan
(employment • income • sad • survey • young adults)

“Be a blank slate”: The way to get hired in Japan?

Fran W
Jun 24, 2014

As far as things not to say in an interview go, you’d think it’d be pretty high up on the list. But the young Japanese university student, rejected by all the other companies he’d applied to, was prepared to take the risk. “This company is the only option I have left,” he pleaded with the interviewer. “I’ll do anything!” An unusual strategy, certainly. But he got the job.

Japanese site Niconico News reports that the man is now entering his ninth year of employment with the company, so it seems the gamble paid off. But is the company’s positive reaction so unusual? Some Japanese employability experts are arguing that, for many companies, the ideal graduate recruit is a “hakushi” – a blank page that the company can do what they want with. When companies train new recruits extensively, an across-the-board willingness to learn is valued more than previous experience.