AKIA TAX CONSULTANTS K.K. is an accounting firm providing tax and accounting services primarily to foreign affiliated companies.
AKIA is an all-around professional firm affiliated with certified tax accountant, licensed labor consultant and licensed solicitor.
Foreign affiliated companies can enjoy our complete service for tax declaration/accounting/payroll/social insurances/bank transfer/setting
up of enterprises/VISA procedures/approvals and licenses etc. so that you can focus on your business, while we take care of everything
else.
In a complex business environment with a flurry of law revisions corresponding to the diversified corporate activities, AKIA provides
excellent domestic and international tax service based on profound experiences and resources.
2023/03/16
The increased rates of payment for overtime worked in excess of 60 hours per month will also apply to SMEs
The payment rate for overtime worked in excess of 60 hours per month used to be 50% for large enterprises and 25% for small and
medium-sized enterprises, but the rate will increase from 25% to 50% or more for the latter, too, from 1 April 2023.
Please note that it will be mandatory.
Late night work
If overtime in excess of 60 hours per month is worked during the late hours (22:00 - 5:00), the following rates will apply.
Late night payment rate is 25% + overtime payment rate is 50% = 75%
Holiday work
The calculation of 60 hours of overtime per month does not include hours worked on statutory holidays, but include hours worked on other holidays.
To protect the health of workers who work more than 60 hours of overtime per month, paid leave (alternative leave) may be granted
instead of the increased payment.
However, this alternative leave scheme can only be applied, if there is a prior agreement between the company and employees, and the
employee concerned have agreed to take alternative leave.
The employment regulation and payroll calculation may need to be reviewed.
For more details on this please refer to the following URL (Japanese):
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare 000930914.pdf (mhlw.go.jp)
2022/12/13
Notice of office closure during new year holidays
Notice of office closure during new year holidays
This is to inform you that our office will be closed for the New Year’s holiday from Thursday, the 29th of December to Tuesday, the 3rd of January.
You will not be able to reach us during the holiday. We will resume business as usual from Wednesday, the 4th of January.
We are sorry for the inconvenience this may cause you.
Thank you for your kind support during this year and continuous help for the new year.
2022/03/22
Notice of Amendments to the Child Care and Family Care Leave Law
The Child Care and Family Care Leave Law will be revised on April 1, 2022. Please be noted that employers are obliged to take the necessary measures for the following:
1. Obligation to improve the employment environment and to inform employees on the child care leave and confirm intentions of relevant individual employees to take it
A) Creating an employment environment that facilitates the acquisition of childcare leave
B) Informing employees of child care leave and confirming the intentions of employees who have reported their or their spouses’ pregnancy or childbirth to take it
2. Relaxation of requirements for fixed-term employees to take Child Care and Family Care Leave
The current requirement of "continuous employment for at least one year" will be eliminated. The following requirements will remain:
Child Care Leave: It is not obvious that the contract will expire before the employee’s child turns 1 year and 6 months old".
Family Care leave: It is not obvious that the contract will expire before the date of expiration of six months from the 93rd day from the scheduled date of start of the Family Care Leave
In addition, the following will come into effect on October 1, 2022.
3. Establishment of Postnatal Paternity Child Care Leave (Child Care Leave at Birth)
Besides regular Child Care Leave, fathers can take up to 4 weeks of leave during the 8 weeks after the birth of his child. It is also possible to take the leave twice in installments.
4. Split Child Care Leave
Currently, it is not possible to take Child Care Leave in installments. However, from October 1, it will be possible to take Child Care Leave twice in installments.
Please refer to the following document from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare for an overview of the system, details, relevant forms, etc. (only in Japanese)
Leaflet "Guide to Amendments to the Child Care and Family Care Leave Law" (4 pages)
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/11900000/000789715.pdf
Explanatory material for employers on the "Revision of the Child Care and Family Care Leave Law - Promotion of Male Employees to Take Child Care Leave, etc.
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/11900000/000851662.pdf
Sample forms of individual notification and confirmation of intent to take Child Care Leave
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/11909000/000852918.pdf
2021/12/13
Notice of office closure during new year holidays
Notice of office closure during new year holidays
This is to inform you that our office will be closed for the New Year’s holiday from Wednesday, the 29th of December to Monday, the 3rd of January.
You will not be able to reach us during the holiday. We will resume business as usual from Tuesday, the 4th of January.
We are sorry for the inconvenience this may cause you.
Thank you for all your kind support of this year and continuous help for the new year.
2021/07/02
Nursing leave for preschool children and family members can be claimed hourly: Amendment of the Child care and Nursing Care Leave Law (enforced on January 1, 2021)
(After amendment)
Employees can claim the above leave up to five days per year (or ten days, if he/she have two or more children or family members) for the purpose of caring for a child (*) or a family member. Now, this leave can be claimed on an hourly basis.
However, it is not obliged for the employers to pay for this leave.
(*) Care for sick or injured child, health checkups and immunizations
(Before amendment)
・Employee could claim the leave on a daily or a half-day basis.
・Employees whose agreed working hours are less than four hours per day were not eligible for the leave.
Pointes to be noted are as follows:
# 1 Any fraction of less than one hour shall be rounded up to one hour.
For example, if the agreed (prescribed) working hours per day of an employee is 7 hours and 30 minutes, and if he/she claims the leave on an hourly basis for 7 times, 30 minutes will be left over. In this case, as 30 minutes shall be round up to one hour, he/she can claim the leave 8 times in total.
In other words, if an employee takes this leave on a daily basis, he/she can claim 7 hours and 30 minutes, but in case he/she claims it on an hourly basis, he/she can claim8 hours.
# 2 Under the revised law, employees can take the leave for an hour or some hours from the starting time of the working hours, or after finishing work earlier than the agreed finishing time. Employers are not obligated to establish internal rules that allows employees to take leave during working hours (so called "Stepping out").
However, in order to promote the convenience of employees, Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare requests employers to take a measure that exceeds the law and to consider to allow employees to take leave in such a way to step out during the work hours
# 3If it is difficult to take the leave on an hourly basis due to the nature of the job, it can be excluded by signing a labor-management agreement in advance.
e.g. International airline crew, etc.
Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare HP
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/11900000/000582033.pdf
The leave under this law is currently not required to be paid, but employers who introduced it as paid leave and meet certain requirements such as having their workers take the leave, may receive “Work-Life Balance Support Subsidy”.
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/000754580.pdf
