일본에서의 직장 내 괴롭힘의 최근 논의의 쟁점과 과제

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to examine recent discussions of policy and legislation on power harassment or workplace bullying in Japan. At present, no special legislation exists to regulate or prevent this type of bullying. However, according to a recent report, the Japanese government announced that the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare will legislate to mandate that companies prevent bullying at work, with the aim of submitting the legislating to the regular session of the National Assembly next year. Rather than being a new law, the legislation would be an amendment of existing labor law. This recent discussion is based on “The Review Report on the Measures to Prevent Bullying at Work” (March 2018) and reports from the Labor Policy Council (September 2018 to present) created by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. In the report, five countermeasures are mentioned: first, to strengthen the criminal responsibility and civil liability of bullies; second, to establish the grounds for claims for damages to an employer; third, to mandate that employers prevent workplace bullying; fourth, to create guidelines to ensure employers prevent and answer for bullying at work; and fifth, to educate and strengthen society to stop workplace bullying. The Labor Policy Council of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare is still debating the matter. However, the council’s opinion seems to be leaning towards the third measure, which is to create legislation that forces an employer to take measures to prevent workplace bullying. By analyzing the specific issues and challenges of this recent debate, I will draw implications for the ongoing discussion and legislation related to workplace bullying in Korea.