-DATA PROTECTION AND PRIVACY-
Japan to Implement National ID System
The Daily Yomiuri reports on privacy concerns about recently announced government plans for a comprehensive identification system to be implemented in 2015. The Council for a Number System for Social Security and Taxation drafted the plan, which would assign each citizen a unique number. The system would store such personal information as name, gender, annual income and number of dependents, the report states. But the plan calls for a third party to monitor the stored data, and it has yet to be determined what information could be used for business purposes, prompting concerns about data protection and privacy. A bill pertaining to the ID system is expected this fall.
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-JAPAN BACKGROUND CHECKS-
Essential Practices for Conducting Background Checks in Japan
There is no one specific law governing background screening in Japan, however, various pieces of legislation do cover parts of the screening process. Until recently, employers had the right, under Japanese law, to conduct employment background checks on candidates. Unless the scope of the background check was extremely unreasonable, or clearly unnecessary, and could be viewed as an invasion of privacy, candidates had the obligation to respond truthfully to questions posed by their potential employers.
The practice of background screening in Japan nowadays however has been limited greatly in the past several years by the enactment of new legislation relating to discrimination, privacy and dealing with third party agencies.
The five main laws that should be considered when designing and implementing a screening program in Japan are:
– Japan’s Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL)
– Labor Standards Law (Chapter 1 Article 3 ) 1947
– Human Resource Development in High-level IT – Ministry of Economy,
Trade and Industry (METI)
.Action Guide Regarding to the Protection of Personal Information of Workers (Action Guide)
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-EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK-
More Japanese IT Firms Seek Young Chinese Graduates
An increasing number of Japanese firms, especially those in the IT sector, are seeking young graduates from Chinese universities to join them. Japan’s HR service firm RGF recently organized a global recruiting project for the Japanese IT industry called “Work in Japan.” RGF held a computer programming competition for graduates from top universities in China, South Korea and India. It selected a total of 92 graduates, which included 85 Chinese, from over 10,000 applicants and they were flown over to Tokyo for job companies in Japanese firms. Japanese IT firms are aiming to expand their global businesses and have strong demand for engineers who are willing to work both in Japan and abroad because local graduates are not enough to fill the gap. Chinese graduates are valued not only for their high technical skills and real-work experiences, but also stronger determination and Confucian work ethics.
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