Legislative Issues of the Working Hours System for White Collar Workers (Japanese)

White collar work is not formulaic labor like factory work and simple paperwork, but non-formulaic labor that does not fit with regulations under the current legislative system. The discrepancy between the reality and regulations covering the working hours of white collar workers has become conspicuous as a result, making it is necessary to develop a scheme that is geared to the nature of white collar work and that can effectively control their long working hours. More specifically, as white collar work does not fit in with formulaic working hour regulations, a new system should be broadly applied to white collar workers by exempting them from the current working hour regulations. This new working hour system must be capable of guaranteeing the personal time necessary for them to protect their health and achieve a work-life balance, using a method different from regulations on the length of working hours. Therefore, measures to guarantee holidays and vacations and maintain health and safety need to be included in the scope of this system. Although laws should determine procedures and general conditions for the introduction of this working hours system, how to operate the system specifically, including the determination of the scope of coverage, should be left to the collective autonomy between labor and management at a company level. For this system to become reality, the establishment of collective communication between labor and management at the company level will be critical.

統制手続をめぐる法律問題

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Issues for Labor Law and Changes in Corporate Organization (Japanese)

For labor law scholars studying law concerning labor relations, an important issue is to elucidate the organic relationship between labor relations within companies and the labor market, and to indicate what could be the optimum system of law for each. Hitherto, however, labor relations have basically been confined within individual companies, leaving very little room for the labor market to function, and consequently labor law has not had a great interest in the labor market. In the current environment in which companies have undergone organizational change, and market-oriented factors in various aspects of operations such as corporate finance, governance, and labor relations are being incorporated, it is insufficient for labor law to assume only the closed world of the corporate organization. There is a pressing need to develop a theory that considers the organic relationship between companies and the labor market. At the same time it is necessary for labor relations within companies to introduce mechanisms that differ from conventional ones. Taking cognizance of these labor law issues, this paper casts light on the reasons and related problems as to why conventional labor relations and labor law are focused on closed labor relations within companies and are not cognizant of the relationship between the labor market and companies. It thus suggests the necessity of rebuilding labor relations in companies to accompany corporate organizational change, of building an organic relationship between the labor market and companies by undertaking fundamental development of the labor market, and of presenting a new social image to replace corporate society.

Issues Related to Creating a System of Laws for Fixed-Term Employment Contracts (Japanese)

With reform of the legal framework related to fixed-term employment contracts fast approaching, I examine in concrete terms problems of creating such laws from the perspective of avoiding excessive regulation of fixed-term employment contracts. My analysis is based on a report created by the Fixed-term Employment Contract Study Group organized by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, and I consider the fact that demand for workers with a fixed-term employment contract is mainly medium- and long-term, not temporary and special. The general principle of permanent employment contracts is asserted when strictly regulating the use of fixed-term employment contracts. However this is not a general principle embodied in the actual employment contract but is a policy preference from the perspective of stable employment. The general principle of permanent employment contracts would dramatically restrict the use of employees with a fixed-term employment contract in current employment practices in Japan and force these changes. However, legal restrictions on fixed-term employment contracts cannot be considered an appropriate legal policy since they do not take into consideration how companies will meet their medium- and long-term demand for labor. Assuming that employees with fixed-term employment contracts—for which there is a medium- and long-term demand—continue to be permitted, the current legal issue becomes providing an appropriate scope of protection. In particular, the law should clearly state the possibility of renewing fixed-term employment contracts when concluding or renewing the contract and demand that the reason for terminating employment in the case the contract is not renewed be objectively justifiable and socially appropriate.

Tumor Lysis Syndrome due to Eribulin Administration for Metastatic Undifferentiated Pleomorphic Sarcoma of the Buttock

Tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) is a complication of cancer treatment that requires urgent intervention. It is extremely rare in the treatment of soft tissue sarcoma (STS) of the limbs or trunk, and there are currently no reports of TLS occurrence from eribulin therapy. We report the case of a 78-year-old woman with an undiffer-entiated pleomorphic sarcoma on the right buttock. We initiated chemotherapy with intravenous eribulin mesylate. Deterioration of renal function, mild hyperkalemia, hyperuricemia, hypocalcemia, and hyperphos-phatemia were confirmed on examination, suggesting the presence of TLS. We present an extremely rare case of TLS from eribulin for STS

Deep Angiomyxoma of the Thigh That Is Difficult to Diagnose: A Case Report and Literature Review

We present an extremely rare case of deep angiomyxoma (DAM) in the thigh that was misdiagnosed as desmoid-type fibromatosis. A 40-year-old Japanese woman presented with a mass on the left thigh. The histological diagnosis by needle biopsy was desmoid-type fibromatosis; the tumor grew slowly and was resected 4 years later. The histological diagnosis from the resected tumor was DAM. As of 16 months post-surgery, the patient has not noticed any local recurrence. Although DAM in a lower extremity is extremely rare, clinicians must be aware of its possible occurrence in areas relatively close to the pelvis

Prevalence, Spinal Alignment, and Mobility of Lumbar Spinal Stenosis with or without Chronic Low Back Pain: A Community-Dwelling Study

Although lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) occurs almost universally with aging, little is known regarding its actual prevalence and relationships to chronic low back pain (CLBP) in the general population. The presence of CLBP in subjects with LSS may have negative impacts on spinal alignment and mobility. This study evaluated the prevalence of LSS using a self-administered, self-reported history questionnaire in 630 community-dwelling individuals ≥50 years old. Subjects with LSS were further divided into LSS+CLBP and LSS alone groups, and spinal alignment and mobility were compared using a computer-assisted device. Prevalence of LSS was 10.8% in this cohort. Subjects in the LSS+CLBP group (n = 46) showed a significantly more kyphotic lumbar spinal alignment with limited lumbar extension (P < .05), resulting in a stooped trunk compared to subjects in the LSS alone group (n = 22). However, no significant difference in spinal mobility was seen between groups

A Case of Incomplete Atypical Femoral Fracture with Histomorphometrical Evidence of Osteomalacia

Roughly half of the femoral fracture patients diagnosed with AFF according to the criteria suggested by a task force of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) have not undergone bisphosphonate (BP) therapy. One suspected cause of such fractures is severe bone loss due to osteomalacia, but the pathogenesis remains unknown. We report a case of an 84-year-old woman with AFF not treated by BP therapy, in whom underlying osteomalacia was histologically diagnosed. The involvement of femoral curvature and spino-pelvic malaligment in the fracture in the present case was considered