Japan Draws Up Emergency Measures against "Dark" Part-Time Jobs

Tokyo, Dec. 17 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government on Tuesday unveiled a package of emergency measures aimed at cracking down on "dark" part-time jobs, following a series of robberies involving such jobs.

The emergency package, approved at a related ministerial meeting on the day, includes the creation of guidelines that clearly state the illegality of posting job advertisements without the name and address of the recruiter and a job description.

It also calls for early undercover investigations, in which detectives apply for dark jobs by using fake identification documents.

According to the National Police Agency, there have been 19 robbery cases linked to dark jobs in Tokyo and the nearby prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama since late August. There were also suspected cases of such crimes in other prefectures, including Hokkaido and Yamaguchi.

Many arrested perpetrators had applied for dark jobs through social media platforms such as X, formerly Twitter. Advertisements for dark jobs often claim that the jobs are "white" and that money will be paid within the day of work, and it is difficult to immediately judge their illegality.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]