FOCUS: Work Interval System Yet to Take Root in Japan

Tokyo, Oct. 28 (Jiji Press)--Whether to make a work interval system mandatory has become a key issue as the Japanese government considers revising working hour regulations.

Companies are currently only required to make efforts to introduce the system, which has yet to take root in Japan, with an adoption rate of just 6.9 pct.

Under the system, employees are required to have a certain number of hours of rest between the end of one workday and the start of the next.

Labor unions and the business community remain far apart on the issue. While labor unions are calling for the system to be made mandatory, the business community argues that the work interval system could hamper business activities.

Baeren Brewery Co., a beer manufacturer in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, stipulates in its work rules that employees must have at least 11 hours of rest between the end of one shift and the start of the next.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]