Crisis deepens in Japan's short

Sep 01, 2023

May 22, 2023 (Mainichi Japan)

Japanese version

OSAKA -- With long hours, low pay and a disproportionate number of cases recognized as "karoshi," or death by overwork, the trucking industry in Japan is facing a crisis, and an improvement of working conditions is urgently needed.

At the Osaka District Court on May 11, the 76-year-old mother of a trucker who died at the age of 52 from a heart attack while driving in 2019 submitted a lawsuit demanding around 54 million yen (approx. $390,000) in compensation from his former employer. It's claimed the man's workload had risen to an average of 159 hours of monthly overtime over the six-month period leading up to his death, well in excess of the death by overwork danger line of 80 hours.

Regulations on truckers' overtime will come into effect next April. This is being called the "2024 problem," as the new limits are expected to cause delays in logistics that had depended on long working hours.

According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the number of those suffering from brain or heart disease in the overland transportation industry recognized as victims of work-related accidents rose to 56 in fiscal 2021. This was the highest of any industry, and constituted roughly a third of all 172 such claims.

The working hours by truckers in Japan are around 20% longer than the average in all industries, while the average pay is about 10% lower. Drivers need to work more to earn a stable income, making this a systemic issue.

In revisions to labor law in April 2019, 720 hours was set as the yearly limit for overtime work. However, the logistics industry was given a five-year delay for its implementation, as long hours had become unavoidable due to a shortage of labor. Even after the new regulations take effect, truckers will have a much higher overtime limit than other workers, at 960 hours per year.

However, there are fears the new limits will make some deliveries unfeasible. Tokyo-based Nomura Research Institute Ltd. has estimated it will be unable to transport about 28% of scheduled deliveries by 2025, rising to around 35% by 2030. The national government in September 2022 set up an expert panel to come up with countermeasures. In an interim report released this February, shippers were urged to reduce "cargo waiting," in which truck drivers are forced to wait for long periods of time at the convenience of shippers and distribution facilities, and to reduce truckers' workloads for cargo handling, such as loading, unloading and placing items on display.

Professor Wakana Shuto of Rikkyo University, a labor relations specialist and member of the review panel, said, "To improve drivers' working conditions, an increase in both shipping fees and wages is necessary. To ensure the survival of businesses that pay high regard to safety, efforts to help senders and consumers accept the higher fees are also crucial."

(Japanese original by Takuya Suzuki and Kumiko Yasumoto, Osaka City News Department)