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Work Style Reform Law
The “Work Style Reform Law” was passed on June 29, 2018 by the Abe government. The reform bills are also referred to as “The Revolution In The Way [People] Work" (働き改革) and is effective April 2019 (dates vary according to amendment and size of employer ), with violation subject to fines . The stated purpose includes restricting overtime hours, improving treatment of non-regular (such as temporary and part time) workers, and more broadly, upping productivity of the Japanese economy.

The bill consists of three main pillars: 1) an overtime cap of 100 hours a month, 2) “equal pay for equal work” to improve treatment of non-regular employees, and 3) an exemption for “high-level” professionals from the overtime cap referred to in the first pillar.

The overtime element introduces a legal cap on overtime to a current landscape with unlimited overtime hours. The 100 hours cap (and 720 hours/year) is the limit allowed for busier months, with the general upper limit set at 45 hours per month (360 hours/year). The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry defines the threshold for karōshi as greater than 80 hours of overtime a month. The cap is effective April 2019 for large companies and April 2020 for small and medium-sized companies.

“Equal pay for equal work” entails equal pay for non-regular workers that engage in the same scope of work. Put another way, equal treatment of workers - without discrimination on employment status. Question towards the lack of specificity of this portion of the law has been raised, and it is expected that the administration will provide further specifications. This amendment is effective April 2020 for large companies and April 2021 for small and medium-sized companies.

The “high-level” professionals who qualify for exemption from the overtime cap are those whose work require highly specific knowledge (such as financial traders, consultants, and product developers; professions are yet to be specified ) and earn annual incomes greater than JPY 10.75 million ($97,500). A provision allowing “high-level” professionals to give up exemption status if they desired was added, following criticism from opposition that this exemption could further exacerbate the overwork culture. This amendment is effective April 2019.

Public reaction has been generally positive towards the overtime and equal pay amendments, though divided on the exemption amendment which has been especially controversial. Those in favor argue for its push towards productivity, whereas the opposition argue no pay for overtime hours could put workers at greater risk - politician Yukio Edano goes so far as calling it "The Permitting Death By Overwork (Karoshi) Legislation (過労死容認法案)".

Karōshi and reforms on labor policy in Japan were further brought into urgent attention following the suicide of 24 year old Matsuri Takahashi on Christmas Day in 2015. Takahashi was an employee at Dentsu, Japan’s leading advertising agency, and worked more than 100 hours’ in the months prior to her death - her death was ruled as karōshi.