3 nabbed over fake contract for nuclear repair work in Fukui

January 23, 2012 in Dispatch, News

Various temporary agencies have been suspected of siphoning off workers’ wages and crime syndicates are suspected of playing a part in dispatching such temporary workers.

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Language hurdle trips up Indonesian nurses

January 7, 2012 in News, Nursing

More than half of 104 Indonesian nurses who came to Japan in 2008 through a bilateral economic partnership agreement to obtain nursing licenses have returned home, due mainly to difficulties meeting Japanese language requirements.

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Japan to start grading skilled foreign workers in spring

December 29, 2011 in Immigration, News

Under the new system, the government will classify professions into three categories — academic research, work requiring highly specialized skills, and management and administration.

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Immigration changes to come as new law takes effect in July

December 21, 2011 in Immigration, News

Documented foreigners will have their maximum period of stay extended to five years instead of the current three years. Re-entry to Japan will also be allowed without applying for a permit as long as the time away is less than a year.

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Four years after ‘Nova shock,’ eikaiwa is down but not out

December 20, 2011 in Eikaiwa, News, Nova

The instructor describes the current Nova management as “extremely poor,” and while it was not especially good at the old Nova, he feels that the people running the branches now are “much worse.”

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Gaba ‘contractor’ status under fire from staff, courts

December 20, 2011 in Events, Gaba, News

“They told me I would be legally required to teach 160 lessons per month for visa sponsorship at a rate of ¥1,500 per lesson. But that didn’t happen.”

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Govt to limit 2nd-graders to 35 per class next year

December 19, 2011 in ALT, News

The government plans to limit the number of second-year students at public primary schools to 35 per class starting in the 2012 academic year, sources said Saturday.

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Young teacher’s 2004 self-immolation caused by job stress, court rules

December 19, 2011 in ALT, Harassment, News

On-the-job stress is what pushed an elementary school teacher here to commit suicide in 2004, the Shizuoka District Court ruled on Dec. 15.

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Average winter bonus for gov’t employees goes up 4.1%

December 19, 2011 in ALT, News, Wages

The government’s rank-and-file employees received on average of about 617,100 yen in winter bonuses, up 4.1 percent from a year earlier. The average bonus for a government employee is equivalent to 2.02 months pay.

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Nurses in Japan find language a barrier

December 16, 2011 in News, Nursing

As of May 2011—or nearly five years after the Jpepa was signed and nearly three years after it was ratified by the Philippine Senate—only two Filipino nurses have passed the licensure exam for nursing while 229 caregivers have been allowed to work here.

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