Japan's Revised Labor Guidelines Focus on Workers' Health

Aug 20, 2026 | News On Japan

TOKYO - Japan's labor ministry will revise its guidance on overtime from September 1, moving away from a uniform recommendation that workplaces keep overtime within 45 hours a month and placing greater emphasis on whether employers have adequate measures in place to protect workers' health.

Under the Labor Standards Act, employers and workers may conclude a so-called Article 36 agreement allowing overtime of up to 45 hours a month in principle.

If an agreement includes special provisions, additional overtime is permitted within statutory limits, including a requirement that overtime and work on holidays remain below 100 hours in a month.

Until now, labor standards inspection offices have generally instructed workplaces to keep overtime within 45 hours a month even when they have agreements containing such special provisions.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said it will revise that approach from September 1.

Inspectors will instead focus on whether individual workplaces have sufficient measures in place to safeguard employees' health and will provide guidance according to the actual conditions at each business establishment.

The ministry said, however, that authorities will continue to provide necessary guidance in cases where workers face a high risk of health problems caused by excessive workloads.

Source: FNN

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