Questions rise about temps, overwork at Toyota

Thursday 11th September, 08:00 AM JST

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noborito at 08:21 AM JST - 11th September

Let's see, your neighbor is a direct hire making 400,000 yen a month plus 4 or 6 months bonus, while they make 900 yen an hour, doing the same job.In addition if they don't work they don't get paid. And, people wonder why these employees get upset?
Badsey at 08:21 AM JST - 11th September

Henry Ford paid some of the highest wages for his time, in fact others thought he was crazy. -but he could to afford to pay those wages. Innovation affords that.

Toyota must become more than just a car company, just like GE changed from consumer products.

Most big companies sub-contract work or hire temps to keep costs down.
JeffLee at 08:27 AM JST - 11th September

The wife of one of karoshi victims was quoted as saying that there's no "secret" to Japan's or Toyota's economic success. The secret, she said,is to work your people, literally, to death.
Betting at 08:34 AM JST - 11th September

Purely my opinion only here, but Japanese very often hide problems in their lives, they dislike letting others around them (family and friends included) know about their problems.

But on the other side for Japanese to belong to a big, famous company is an incredibly good thing, they are often full of pride when they enter them.

This leads to a situation where people suffer in silence. They proudly say to all and sundry that they work for a big company, but their working conditions aren't so good in reality.

"Overseas, tomes extolling Toyota’s methods still far outnumber those denigrating it".

Well, these "tomes" are located overseas and not anywhere close to Japan or in it, they can't see the truth, only what is fed to them.
timeon at 09:36 AM JST - 11th September

my friend works for Toyota (westerner with master degree from top uni in Japan). he waited 7 years until he got his first serious salary raise (and the basic salary was miserable). while he was busy, it wasn't anything close to "working to death". but he was in the marketing department, the engineers are probably the worst. like in 99% of the Japanese manufacturing companies
thedeath at 10:53 AM JST - 11th September

am i seeing a rightwing japanese quote a gaijin sentence?!

it is a fact every ordinary salaryman in this country knew. but no one want to do a thing, which... again, everyone know it! i do not get, why some j-right can not admit it!
Scrote at 11:24 AM JST - 11th September

"The Toyota Production System is based upon respect for people": hardly. The company works its employees to death, doesn't allow them time off, doesn't raise their salaries despite record profits and prefers to employ people on temporary contracts who can easily be disposed of if they cause trouble.

The Toyota Production System subjugates workers, giving them little in return.
pointofview at 11:33 AM JST - 11th September

Look! there has been absolutely no effort put forth to try and change this problem. Its just a bunch of fluff talk to make news. Blah Blah Blah Akihabara... if people really cared about individuals in the Temp-World they would be pushing for change. Its probably not even discussed in parliament. Businesses care about saving and making money. That`s it! Not you and not me. Stop buying their products, protest, strike etc. then there might be change. There has been no substantial change regarding any major issues in Japan or around the world for ages. What a joke!
pathat at 11:37 AM JST - 11th September

"Japan has long fostered family-like loyalty and pride at companies so one’s job takes up a much larger part of a Japanese identity compared to many other nations."

Old news. Try living in the 21st century. Sounds like a sentence out of a dusty, lonely Ezra Vogel book in a second-hand bookshop.

"One is the growing use of temporary agency workers, such as the man arrested for the killing rampage in Tokyo in June. The practice, driven by the pressure to reduce costs amid global competition, is a major break with the tradition of lifetime employment at Japan’s major companies."

"It now employs about 12,000 contract and temporary agency workers, about 15 percent of its 80,000-strong work force in Japan."

If the career employees see things continually getting worse with little or no hope in sight, then they have little or no reason to endlessly sacrifice their family life, and even their health, for the company. They have no choice in some cases to be sure, but the "breaking point" for this society will come sometime in the next decade.

If the company has no loyalty and little responsibility to the contract employees, then they cannot expect much of anything in return other than the bare minimum work.

This is 2008.

Japan, Inc. went flat a long time ago.
bebert at 12:34 PM JST - 11th September

Toyota sounds just like Ford and GMC back in 1920's

Try Ford and GM in the 2000's. The difference being that Toyota is succeeding while GM and Ford are failing. Many of Toyota's quality problems are due to their rapid expansion, including the need to source to local suppliers who don't have the same quality controls as Toyota's home suppliers.

The problems for Toyota's line workers are going to pale in comparison to those of their counterparts at Ford and GM, where benefits gained by the unions are being stripped and wages are being cut by 40% or more for new hires.
soldave at 03:47 PM JST - 11th September

A firm with no respect for its working staff? This makes it different from most large firms in Japan in what way exactly?
helloklitty at 04:41 PM JST - 11th September

A firm with no respect for its working staff? This makes it different from most large firms in Japan in what way exactly?

What may be common knowledge to you is not common knowledge to everyone. These company's who exploit workers need to be exposed and shamed. Do you have something against that? If so, why?
Deepinside at 08:09 PM JST - 11th September

the answer,Dont buy Toyota products,and they will feel it..the cold ice method is the best way to reject injustice...
usaexpat at 11:35 PM JST - 11th September

Good that they mentioned Toyota is not alone in its human as robot work model. I will never understand why people continue to work like slaves when their companies no longer give them the loyalty of lifetime employment and a pension. Wake up young workers and start doing something for yourselves. At a large company you are just a replaceable cog.
usaexpat at 11:38 PM JST - 11th September

pathat: excellent post, I should have read before I posted because I think we are saying the same thing. I think younger people are waking up here if for no other reason than diminished opportunity for full time employment with large firms.