At noon on August 15, 1945, Japanese radio broadcast the emperor’s recorded reading of the rescript ending the war. It contains the words taegataki o tae, shinobigataki o shinobi, enduring what is hard to endure and bearing what is hard to bear, so as to open the way to peace for all generations to come.
Unbeaten by Rain
Miyazawa Kenji wrote the poem Ame ni mo makezu (Unbeaten by Rain) in a notebook in November 1931, while he lay ill. It was found after his death.
The poem begins with a wish not to be beaten by rain or wind, by snow or summer heat. It describes a person who is never angry and always smiles quietly.
The Flowing River
Hōjōki (An Account of My Hut), completed by Kamo no Chōmei in 1212, opens: Yuku kawa no nagare wa taezu shite, shikamo moto no mizu ni arazu. “The flow of the river never ceases, and yet it is never the same water.”
The book goes on to record the disasters of its time: the great fire of Angen, the famine of Yōwa and the great earthquake of Genryaku.
The Bell of Gion Shōja
Heike Monogatari (The Tale of the Heike) opens: Gion shōja no kane no koe, shogyō mujō no hibiki ari. “The sound of the bell of Gion Shōja echoes the impermanence of all things.” The opening ends: hitoe ni kaze no mae no chiri ni onaji, “they are just like dust before the wind.”
In Tokushima Prefecture, for example, pupils read the opening aloud in the fifth grade and study the tale again in the first year of junior high school.
A Transfer Order
An employee of Tōa Paint refused a transfer to Nagoya for family reasons. He lived with his mother, aged 71, his wife, aged 28, and his daughter, aged 2. The company dismissed him as a disciplinary measure.
On July 14, 1986, the Second Petty Bench of the Supreme Court ruled that the transfer order was not an abuse of rights.
Self-Restraint
In April 2020, the government declared a state of emergency over COVID-19 for seven prefectures, among them Tokyo, Osaka and Hyogo. Residents were asked to refrain from going out. For these requests there were basically no penalties. Facilities asked to close could be named publicly.
On December 1, 2020, the grand prize of the New Words and Buzzwords Awards went to san-mitsu, the three Cs: closed spaces, crowded places and close contact.
Sanrizuka
In July 1966, the cabinet formally decided to build a new international airport around Sanrizuka in Narita. An opposition league formed, and the protests grew. The airport opened in May 1978 with a single runway.
In November 1991, the national government, the airport authority, Chiba Prefecture and the opposition league met together for the first time. Their talks lasted three years.
Last Resort
In a judgment of October 29, 1979, in the Tōyō Sanso case, the Tokyo High Court set out four requirements for dismissing workers for economic reasons.
The employer must show a business need to reduce staff and a sufficient effort to avoid dismissals. The choice of who goes must be reasonable, and the employer must explain and consult with the workers or their union. A case summary of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare lists the efforts: limits on overtime, a stop to new hiring, cuts in allowances, and transfers and secondments.
Employment Adjustment Subsidy
A Japanese employer forced to scale back its business for economic reasons can send workers on temporary leave instead of dismissing them. The koyō chōsei joseikin, the employment adjustment subsidy, then subsidizes the employer for the equivalent of the leave allowance.
Under special measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, the cap was 15,000 yen per worker per day.
Seconded to Other Companies
On October 28, 2020, ANA Holdings announced that it would second employees, among them cabin crew, to other companies. About 100 people were to go to about 10 companies by December, and more than 400 by the following spring. The companies taking them included the electronics retailer Nojima and the supermarket chain Seijō Ishii.