"Coronavirus leading to heavy job losses among vulnerable workers in Japan", 15 May 2020

Nonpermanent employees placed in a vulnerable position in Japan are facing extreme difficulties after getting laid off during this economic slump due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The number of nonpermanent workers in Japan is about 22 million, which accounts for around 40% of all employees. Although the central government has been making a string of proposals to expand measures to maintain employment, it is lagging behind in responding to this unprecedented situation.

... [A] man had applied to change his employment contract to that of an indefinite period on March 3, and the company accepted the application on March 23. However, it was only three days later that the man received his unemployment notice. Although the man demanded an explanation from the company a number of times, he was forced to write a resignation letter on the spot...The man individually joined a labor union...and began negotiations at the end of April demanding that his dismissal be revoked...[T]he company commented, "We cannot respond to questions as the issue is being dealt with through an attorney."

... According to a survey conducted on about 4,300 workers by the Research Institute for Advancement of Living Standards between April 1 and 3, some 10.6% of contract workers responded that their employment contracts had been terminated due to the novel coronavirus. Meanwhile, 56.8% of part-time workers and 52.7% of dispatch workers answered that their incomes had been reduced.

... During the current economic downturn, a variety of sectors including the restaurant and hotel industries are incurring great damage... 

...There has also been a rise in cases where employment contracts for dispatch workers are terminated prematurely in the middle of the contract period. Among cases reported to the Japanese Trade Union Confederation...there was a female dispatch worker...whose employment contract duration was abruptly changed from the end of June to the end of April...Although dispatch companies are obliged to either find another workplace or provide compensation in this scenario, the woman's dispatch company brushed her off...A lawyer with the dispatch company also stated that the situation was "inevitable due to the novel coronavirus."