E/C.12/JPN/CO /3
The Committee urges the State party to:
(a)
Carry out awareness-raising campaigns to change society’s perception of
gender roles;
(b)
Educate girls and boys about equal career opportunities with a view to
promoting their pursuance of education in fields other than those traditionally
dominated by either sex;
(c)
Adopt bolder goals, targeting both men and women in the Basic Plans
for Gender Equality, and implementing temporary measures, such as quotas, in
the fields of education, employment and political and public decision-making;
(d)
Abolish practices, such as the career-track system and dismissal on the
ground of pregnancy, which discriminate against women; and
(e)
Accelerate the achievement of zero waiting lists for day care and make
day care affordable.
The Committee requests that the State party include in its next periodic report the
statistical data disaggregated by sex, income level and educational background in the
enjoyment of the Covenant rights, as announced by the delegation during the
dialogue, and explain how this data has informed policy-making on gender equality.
14.
The Committee notes with concern that the State party’s Penal Code provides for
imprisonment with assigned work as one of the penal sentences, in breach of the
Covenant’s prohibition of forced labour (art. 6).
The Committee calls on the State party to abolish forced labour either as a corrective
measure or as a penal sentence, and amend or repeal relevant provisions in line with
its obligation under article 6 of the Covenant. The Committee also encourages the
State party to consider ratifying International Labour Organization (ILO)
Convention No. 105 (1957) concerning the Abolition of Forced Labour.
15.
The Committee reiterates its recommendation to the State party to consider
ratification of ILO Convention No. 111 (1958) concerning Discrimination in Respect
of Employment and Occupation.
16.
The Committee is concerned at abuse of fixed-term contracts by employers as well
as at the vulnerability of workers with such contracts to unfavourable conditions of work, in
spite of the incentives offered by the State party encouraging employers to use the same
system of evaluation and qualification for all employees irrespective of the nature of their
contracts. The Committee is also concerned at cases where employers avoid the conversion
of fixed-term contracts into open-ended contracts, as introduced under the revised Labour
Contract Act, by not renewing them (arts. 6 and 7).
The Committee recommends that the State party take measures to prevent the abuse
of fixed-term contracts, including by establishing clear criteria applicable to them.
Referring to the State party’s obligation to ensure equal remuneration for work of
equal value, the Committee also recommends that the State party monitor whether the
system of financial incentives achieves the objective of preventing unequal treatment
of workers with fixed-term contracts. Furthermore, the Committee calls on the State
party to strengthen and monitor the enforcement of the Labour Contract Act so as to
prevent contracts of fixed-term workers being unfairly not renewed.
17.
The Committee notes with concern that a significant number of workers continue to
work for excessively long hours, in spite of the measures taken by the State party to
encourage employers to take voluntary action. The Committee is also concerned that deaths
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