No company at the location…whistleblower! A “black company” is in charge of the “Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare’s Workplace Reform Promotion Project.
We visited labor standards inspectors in western Japan and held seminars to promote reforms in the way we work. We worked 15 to 16 hours a day. When I heard the lecturer at the seminar say, ‘Why don’t we review the long working hours that have become the norm and aim to eliminate labor shortages and improve productivity?’ I laughed inside my chest and said, ‘What a joke.
Mr. A, who runs a company in Osaka, expressed his indignation.
The Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare (MHLW) defines its “work style reforms” as reforms to enable people to choose diverse and flexible work styles that suit their individual circumstances.
The “Workplace Workplace Reform Law” went into effect in July 2018, and in February 2022, a competitive bidding process was held for the “Project to Hold Briefing Sessions for Workplaces Notifying Workers of 36 Agreements in Reiwa 2022,” and Apex International, a travel agency, won the bid for 127,160,000 yen. Starting in September 2022, briefings were held at labor standards inspectors’ offices around the country as part of the “Workplace Reform Law” to explain the latest amendments to the law and the upper limits on overtime hours.
Mr. A. “It seems that KENTO in Asakusa was subcontracted by Apex, and Mr. Toshiharu Saito of the company asked me for business cooperation, saying, ‘I need your help with a job; it’s a job worth 8 to 10 million yen.
Mr. A was in charge of the western Japan region and managed online briefings at labor standards inspectors’ offices in various regions. Last year’s handbook shows that the following weekdays were filled to the brim: “October 6, Okayama-Tsuyama; October 7, Hiroshima Hiroshima City; October 11, Kagoshima-Kirishima; October 12, Hiroshima Miyoshi; October 13, Yamaguchi Shimonoseki; October 14, Kochi-Kochi; October 17, Tokushima-Tokushima City; October 18, Hiroshima Hatsukaichi; October 19, Okayama Okayama City; October 21, Kagoshima Kagoshima City; October 24, Osaka Chuo; and October 26, Hyogo Itami. The weekdays were packed.
However, when the work actually began, and when we applied to Mr. Saito for transportation, lodging, and other expenses, we lost communication with him. In addition to this, “things that differed from the initial arrangement continued,” he said.
What was surprising was that KENTO had not obtained approval for a worker dispatch business. Perhaps that’s why they told me, ‘Make your own business card based on the format of Apex’s business cards. I pointed out that this would be in violation of the law, but they ignored me. The seminar is from 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., but there is also preparation and cleanup before and after. I worked hard, taking the last train to the next city, but some of my wages remained unpaid. It’s a mess,” said Mr. A.
In order to speak with Mr. Saito of KENTO, this magazine visited the apartment in Taito Ward that was written on his business card, but no one was there and there was no sign on the nameplate. When we checked the company’s registration at the Legal Affairs Bureau in Taito Ward, there was nothing on the nameplate.
It turned out that “KENTO” and “Shunji Saito” were registered in Toshima Ward. A visit to the address of the office revealed it to be that of a nail salon.
He said, “I’ve been renting this office for eight years, but I don’t know such a company. He is also not related to our company, so I don’t know him 100%.”
They denied it.
