Human Resources

Moreover, the emergence of artificial intelligence and advanced digital technologies present both extraordinary opportunities and significant challenges for HR teams. These technologies promise unprecedented capabilities in talent management and predictive workforce planning, while simultaneously demanding a robust human-technology interaction ensuring its outputs are aligned with organizational values and ethical considerations. The EBC Human Resources Committee welcomes the activities initiated by the Japanese government, such as the August 2023 Study Group on HR Policy in the Digital Age, focusing on AI adoption in Japanese companies, to provide further guidance for companies in this new field.

On the important theme of digitalisation, the EBC Human Resources Committee further continuous to support the ongoing activities of the Japanese government in this area, with the passing of laws to promote ‘electronic government’ and reduce the necessity for ‘hanko’ seals, along with the dedicated digitalisation agency. For businesses, this initiative provides opportunities to further benefit from productivity efficiencies from paperless processes and electronic documents by reducing the physical need to stamp ‘hanko’ seals on official documents. It is important that Japan continues these efforts. The EBC Human Resources Committee encourages the Japanese government to proceed improving online payment capabilities. Even in today’s world, Japanese employees sometimes still have to visit the tax office or the Japan Pension Office in person to make payments in cash. A more progressive approach and a switch to more online payments would also lead to greater efficiency, benefiting companies and employees in the same way.

The EBC appreciates the government’s labour market reform initiatives, whilst at the same time continues to encourage a broader dialogue on promoting productivity and flexible working, through measures that can be taken to improve the way work is done. The EBC Human Resources Committee is also encouraged by the trend among major Japanese manufactures to move towards more performance and merit-based pay schemes and personnel evaluation systems aimed at boosting motivation and productivity of their workforces, in the hope that this may also lead to greater mobility of workers, matching of transferable skill sets and experiences in the external labour market in Japan. Thus, as performance and merit-based remunerations are highly welcomed, consideration should be given to supporting job-based promotions and careers rather than the traditional route based solely on age and length of service.

Japan’s labour market continues to remain tight amid an ageing demographic and declining birth rate, representing a challenge for economic growth and competitiveness, but also an opportunity for labour market reform and deregulation. For businesses, this situation coupled with low unemployment rates has led to a limited pool of active job seekers in the labour market and shortage of skilled and unskilled workers. The EBC applauds the Government’s policy aims to promote women’s active participation in the workforce and to encourage companies to increase women in leadership positions. Its steps in improving support for working parents are clearly important initiatives requiring concrete follow-up for a successful outcome. The Government needs for instance to continue to find creative ways to offer more public child-care centres and private child-minding services, and to support and encourage men to take child-care leave, since both childcare and parental leave are not only crucial for young families, but also offer great opportunities to create a more flexible work environment and to introduce part time work or shared job opportunities to both women and men alike. In this context, it is vital that those returning from maternity leave or paternity leave are protected in their previous position and role. Towards this end, the EBC Human Resources Committee believes that further efforts to change attitudes and awareness in society about childcare and maternity/paternity leave should be actively promoted. Pivotal in the efforts for providing more women’s active participation in the workforce will be an ongoing effort to promote remote or flexible work opportunities despite recurring return-to-office demands of companies after the pandemic. The EBC encourages the Japanese government to recognizing the critical link between workplace flexibility and female professional engagement.

Moreover, the EBC asks the Japanese government to further promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Japan. While gender parity presumably takes up the discrimination is not only limited to that but can be found in all aspects. Age, race, nationality, disability and sexual orientation are only a few examples in which discrimination can be found. By systematically dismantling systemic barriers and creating inclusive organizational ecosystems, the EBC HR Committee considers Japan having the chance to unlock unprecedented human potential, further drive innovation and secure long-term economic vitality.

Since introducing the Defined Contribution Pension Law of 2001, the Japanese government has rolled out a series of revisions to enable employers to offer more flexible and attractive pension schemes to employees. Given the current demographic trend and the inevitable stress this will place on the Japanese social security system, it is imperative that further incentives are created to encourage individuals to prepare financially for their own retirement, including further enhancing investment education programs and the ability for individuals to increase their contributions to the funds.