Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2004, published 93rd ILC session (2005)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Japan (Ratification: 2000)

The Committee takes note of the Government’s first and second reports. It also notes with interest that Japan ratified the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), on 18 June 2001. Finally, the Committee notes the communication of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) dated 31 October 2002, according to which the minimum age for admission to work or employment is rigorously enforced in Japan. The Committee requests the Government to supply further information on the following points.

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy. The Committee notes the statement of the Government’s representative to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (35th Session, 12-30 January 2004), that the "Headquarters for Youth Development" was established in June 2003. It is responsible for coordinating policies on youth taken at the ministerial level. The Committee asks the Government to provide further information on the functions of the Headquarters for Youth Development and on the national policies designed to ensure the effective abolition of child labour.

Article 2, paragraph 1. Scope of application. The Committee observes that section 56 of the Labour Standards Act, 1947, as amended in 2003, stipulates that the minimum age for admission to employment is 31 March following the day a child reaches 15 years of age. It also notes that section 85 of the Mariners’ Act (No. 100, 1947) prohibits the employment of children under the age of 15 years. However, the Committee notes that, according to section 9 of the Labour Standards Act, a worker means anyone who is employed in an enterprise or place of business, and receives wages therefrom. The Committee consequently notes that self-employed workers do not benefit from the protection laid down in the Labour Standards Act. The Committee recalls that the Convention shall apply to all kinds of work or employment regardless of the existence of an employment relationship. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that self-employed workers benefit from the protection laid down in the Convention.

Article 3, paragraphs 1 and 2. Minimum age for admission to, and determination of, hazardous work. The Committee notes with interest that section 62 of the Labour Standards Act states that children under 18 years of age shall not be employed in work likely to jeopardize their health, safety or morals, and that a list of such hazardous work will be established by an Ordinance of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. The Committee takes note of Ordinance No. 13 of 1954 on labour standards for minors, which lists 46 activities prohibited for children under 18 years of age.

Article 3, paragraph 3, and Article 6. Hazardous work and apprenticeship. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that apprenticeship does not exist in Japan. However, the Committee observes that section 69(1) of the Labour Standards Act states that an employer shall not exploit an apprentice, student, trainee or other workers on grounds that they are seeking to acquire skills. Subsection 2 of section 69 provides that an employer shall not employ a worker, who is seeking to acquire skills, on domestic work or other related work having no relation to the acquisition of skills. Furthermore, with respect to workers receiving vocational training, the Committee notes that, by virtue of section 70 of the Labour Standards Act, the provisions of sections 62 and 64(3) of the same Act concerning restrictions on dangerous and injurious jobs for minors, as well as the provisions of sections 63 and 64 concerning the ban on underground work by minors, may be waived by the Ordinance of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. However, section 70 of the Labour Standards Act further provides that only minors of 16 years and above may work underground as a means of vocational training.  The Committee further notes that, by virtue of section 17 of Ordinance No. 6 of 31 October 1947 on apprenticeship, children under 18 years of age may undertake apprenticeship in hazardous occupations in so far as they have received direct instruction and that pertinent methods of protection are adopted.

The Committee notes that, by virtue of the abovementioned provisions, young persons under the age of 18 years may be engaged in types of hazardous work during their apprenticeship. The Committee reminds the Government that, by virtue of Article 3, paragraph 3, of the Convention, national laws or regulations or the competent authority may, after consultation with the organizations of workers and employers concerned, authorize employment or work as from the age of 16 years on condition that the health, safety and morals of the young persons concerned are fully protected and that the young persons have received adequate specific instruction or vocational training in the relevant branch of activity. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that no young persons under 16 years of age may be authorized to perform types of hazardous work during their apprenticeship. The Committee also requests the Government to provide a copy of Ordinance No. 6 of 31 October 1947, including latest amendments.

Article 4. Exclusion of limited categories of employment or work from the scope of application of the Convention. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that family undertakings and domestic workers are excluded from the scope of application of the Labour Standards Act (section 116(2)). A similar exclusion applies to mariners working on vessels employing only family members (section 85(1) of the Mariners’ Act). The Government indicates that the provisions of the Convention therefore do not apply to the abovementioned category of workers. The reason evoked is that it is inappropriate to treat workers employed in a family undertaking in a similar way to other workers. The Committee recalls that Article 4, paragraph 3, of the Convention, does not permit the exclusion of the types of work covered by Article 3 of the Convention (hazardous work) from the scope of application of this Convention. In this regard, the Committee notes that section 85(2) of the Mariners’ Act prohibits sailors who are under the age of 18 years from engaging in certain dangerous and harmful work likely to jeopardize their health and safety. The Committee consequently requests the Government to communicate information on the extent of child labour in family undertakings and domestic work, and to state the position of the law and practice in respect of these categories. It also asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that children under 18 working in family undertakings or as domestic workers do not carry out work that is likely to jeopardize their health, safety or morals.

Article 7. Light work. The Committee notes that, under section 56(2) of the Labour Standards Act, children above 13 years of age may be employed, with the permission of the administrative office, in light work that is not injurious to their health and welfare. The Committee also notes that, for children of 13 years, the employer shall keep at the workplace a certificate issued by the head of the school in which the child is enrolled or a certificate containing the written consent of the parents. The certificate shall indicate that the employment is not likely to hinder school attendance (section 57(2) of the Labour Standards Act). It also notes that children above 13 years of age shall not work more than seven hours a day, or 40 hours a week (section 60(2) of the Labour Standards Act). The number of hours spent at school shall be included in the maximum daily or weekly working hours (section 60(2) of the Labour Standards Act). The Committee also observes that section 8 of the Labour Standards Regulation for Minors, 1954 (as amended in 1986), provides for a list of activities that are not permitted for children under 13 years, such as acrobatic performances, singing, work performed in hotels and restaurants. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the numbers of permits granted for admission to light work and the types of work authorized thereunder.

Article 9. Penalties. The Committee notes that, under section 118 of the Labour Standards Act, an employer who has violated the provisions on the minimum age for admission to employment (section 56), or the prohibition to employ persons under 18 years of age in underground work (sections 63 and 64(2)) shall be liable to imprisonment of not more than one year or to a fine of not more than 500,000 yen. A person employing a child under 18 years of age in one of the hazardous occupations listed under section 62 is punishable by imprisonment of not more than six months or to a fine of not more than 300,000 yen. Section 120 of the Labour Standards Act states that an employer who does not keep at the workplace birth certificates proving the age of his/her employees, as required by section 57, is liable to a fine of not more than 300,000 yen. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the penalties imposed in practice.

Part III of the report form. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare is entrusted with the application of the national legislation giving effect to the Convention. The Ministry is in charge of the labour inspectorate, which counts more than 3,658 labour inspectors. By virtue of section 101 of the Labour Standards Act, labour inspectors are authorized to inspect workplaces and other associated buildings, to consult documents and to question employers and employees. Section 102 of the Labour Standards Act also states that, with respect to the violations of this Act, inspectors shall exercise the duties of Judicial Police Officers. The Government also indicates that, as of May 2002, the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is responsible for the implementation of the Maritime Laws and Regulations. The 134 inspectors inspect vessels, consult documents and may question shipowners or mariners. In the case of flagrant violations, the inspectors may bring the case to the prosecutor’s office. The Committee notes that, out of the 8,830 vessels inspected in 2001, and the 8,167 vessels inspected in 2003 there were no cases of violations of section 85 of the Mariners’ Law which restricts the employment of mariners aged less than 18 years. It also notes the Government’s indications that, in 2001, 18 violations of section 56 (on the minimum age of admission for employment or work) of the Labour Standards Act were found in the course of regular inspections across all types of industry. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the labour inspections carried out and the results of the findings.

Part V of the report form. The Committee notes the Government’s indication to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC/C/104/Add.2, 24 July 2003, paragraph 453) that, in 1999, 158 persons were charged with employing children under 15 years of age in night work and in hazardous occupations; the number of prosecutions decreased to 115 in 2000. According to the Government’s indication, 27 violations of the minimum age provisions (section 56 of the Labour Standards Act) were found in the course of regular inspections between January and December 2003. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would supply information on the penalties imposed. It also requests the Government to continue supplying information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including, for example, statistical data on the employment of minors, and information on the number and nature of contraventions reported.