UAAT International Young Visiting Scholar Program
Yoshiharu Toya
Current Position/Title: Professor
Institutional Affiliation: Faculty of Humanities and Social Science, University of Ryukyus
Email: ytoya@hs.u-ryukyu.ac.jp
Webpage: https://researchmap.jp/yoshiharutoya
Host Scholar: Sieh-Chuen Huang, Professor
Hosting Department/Institution: College of Law, National Taiwan University
Biography:
Yoshiharu Toya is a professor at the University of the Ryukyus (Okinawa, Japan). His research and teaching focus on labor and employment law, with particular emphasis on labor relations in the context of employer insolvency and corporate restructuring.
Lecture [1]:
Time: September 19, 2025, 17:30-18:30
Venue: The 1st Conference Room (1710), Tsai Lecture Hall, National Taiwan University
Title: An Introduction to Japanese Labor Law
Abstract:
Japan’s labor and employment law emerged under the strong influence of the United States during the post–World War II occupation, but has since evolved in distinctive ways within the framework of the postwar Japanese employment system. In recent years, structural shifts—such as long working hours and karoshi (death from overwork), the expansion of non-regular employment, and increased job mobility even among regular employees—have made legal reform and reinterpretation increasingly necessary. This lecture outlines the basic structure of Japanese labor and employment law and examines several pressing contemporary issues, with attention to how the legal framework is adapting to these developments.
[The lecture will be conducted in Japanese with interpretation.]