Overview
- Kishida Fumio, leading the LDP’s growth strategy unit, delivered the proposal to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Wednesday, asking for a review of how labor-hour rules are enforced.
- The plan asks Labour Standards Inspection Offices to help firms sign Article 36 labor–management agreements, including special clauses, with special help for small and mid-size businesses through dedicated advice desks.
- It also calls for outreach visits to companies that lack a 36 agreement and for inspectors to move away from uniform orders to cut overtime.
- A 36 agreement is the legal deal that lets workers do overtime within set limits, often up to 45 hours a month, and a special clause can allow more hours when procedures are met.
- Kishida said worker health and voluntary choice come first, and supporters say the goal is to secure staff and spur growth, with the government now weighing whether to fold the ideas into its summer Basic Policy.