- What happens during the campaign month
- The cautions the leaflet sets out
- What buyers can change in-house
- How suppliers can protect themselves with quotes and records
- Where to get advice
The short answer
On 30 October Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced that, together with the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency and the Japan Fair Trade Commission, it is making November a campaign month against "shiwayose", pushing the burden onto suppliers. The plan includes posters and leaflets, requests for cooperation to the ministries that oversee each industry, prefectures, and employer and worker organisations, and focused visits and requests by prefectural labour bureaus to large companies and others that may be causing the problem.
"Shiwayose" here means a company cutting its own long hours while passing short-notice orders or sudden specification changes to its suppliers without paying the proper cost. A realistic response this month is for buyers to review how they ask, and suppliers to review how they accept.
What the problem is
The announcement says large companies' work-style reforms sometimes create this burden for small suppliers. It also cites short construction schedules set by private clients, and long, routine waiting times for truck drivers caused by shippers.
The campaign leaflet sets out three cautions based on the Act on Special Measures for Improvement of Working Hours Arrangements: set proper delivery dates, avoid frequent changes to orders, and improve how orders are placed. It also introduces guidance by situation from the "Promotion Standards" for small subcontracting businesses.
| Situation | What the leaflet says |
|---|---|
| Labour, material or energy costs have risen | Use the labour cost guidelines and discuss passing on the increase appropriately |
| A short-notice order or sudden change cannot be avoided | The commissioning company bears costs such as overtime pay |
| The order has to change | Take care to avoid unfair rework, and keep orders stable, for example by sharing a long-term order plan |
Examples of trading that obstructs work-style reform include refusing delivery or cutting payment because an unreasonably short deadline was missed, delivery time slots that are far too tight, and frequent small deliveries without proper payment for the cost.
What buyers can change
The burden often comes from internal approvals or specifications running late and being pushed outside. Decide in advance that when you fall behind internally, you tighten your own schedule rather than cut the supplier's working time. When a rush job really is necessary, say at the time of the request that you will pay the extra cost, and ask for a quote. Set a last date for changes when you place the order, and record each change in writing with the date and content.
Checklist
- In the last three months, how many orders gave the supplier fewer than three working days, and what caused them?
- Do you state the extra cost of rush or holiday work at the time of the request?
- Do your orders or request emails give a deadline for specification changes?
What suppliers can do
Saying no is not easy, but there is still something you can protect. One step is to record, case by case and in date order, when and from whom you received each change. Another is to separate normal and rush lead times and put the rush cost in your quote from the start. When a rush request comes in, reply with the extra cost alongside the delivery date under the normal schedule. That gives the buyer a reason to decide again whether it really is urgent.
Where to get advice
The leaflet points small businesses, sole traders and freelancers to the "Torihiki Kakekomi-dera" trading advice service (0120-418-618, weekdays 9:00 to 12:00 and 13:00 to 17:00, free and anonymous). November is also the month for raising awareness of death from overwork, and on Saturday 7 November from 9:00 to 17:00 a special overwork helpline (0120-794-713) was open; that one-day service has now closed. On other days, you can contact a Labour Standards Inspection Office or the working conditions hotline (0120-811-610).
Depending on the transaction, other laws such as the "Toritekiho" may also apply. Check the Japan Fair Trade Commission's guidance to see whether they cover you. This article is a general explanation, not individual legal advice.
One thing to check today
Count the orders you placed or received in the last month that allowed fewer than three working days, and write down the cause of each.