An employer must not have workers work more than 40 hours per week, excluding break periods.

An employer must not have workers work more than 8 hours per day for each day of the week, excluding break periods.

Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding Article, if an employer has established, in a written agreement with the labor union that has been organized by a majority of the workers at the workplace, if there is one, or with a person representing a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is no such union, or pursuant to rules of employment or the equivalent thereof, that the average weekly working hours over the course of a fixed period of not more than one month will not exceed the working hours referred to in paragraph (1) of the preceding Article, the employer, as established, may have a worker work in excess of the working hours set forth in paragraph (1) of the preceding Article in a specified week or weeks and may have a worker work in excess of the working hours set forth in paragraph (2) of the preceding Article on a specified day or days.

An employer must notify the relevant government agency of the agreement set forth in the preceding paragraph, pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 32, if an employer has provided for the following particulars in a written agreement with the labor union that has been organized by a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is one, or with a person representing a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is no such union, the employer may have a worker whose start and end times are left up to that worker pursuant to rules of employment or the equivalent, work in excess of the working hours set forth in paragraph (1) of that Article in one week and may have that worker work in excess of the working hours set forth in paragraph (2) of that Article in one day, within a scope that does not cause the weekly average working hours during the period that has been established in that agreement as the settlement period referred to in item (ii) of this Article to exceed the working hours set forth in paragraph (1) of that Article:

To apply the provisions of the preceding paragraph if the settlement period exceeds one month in length, in the parts of that paragraph other than the items, the phrase "to exceed the working hours set forth in paragraph (1) of that Article" is deemed to be replaced with "to exceed the working hours set forth in paragraph (1) of that Article, and does not cause the weekly average working hours in each of the one-month periods into which that settlement period has been divided beginning on the first day of the settlement period (including the last of the periods into which it has been divided, even if it is shorter than one month; the same applies hereinafter in this paragraph) to exceed 50 hours"; and the phrase "paragraph (1) of that Article" is deemed to be replaced with "paragraph (1) of Article 32".

To apply the provisions of paragraph (1) if an employer has a worker whose number of prescribed weekly working days is five days, work pursuant to the provisions of that paragraph, in the parts of that paragraph other than the items, (including as applied following a deemed replacement of terms pursuant to the preceding paragraph), the phrase "the working hours set forth in paragraph (1) of that Article" is deemed to be replaced with "the working hours set forth in paragraph (1) of that Article (or, if the employer, in a written agreement with the labor union that has been organized by a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is one, or with a person representing a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is no such union, has established that the number of working hours is limited to the number of hours arrived at when the number of prescribed working days during the settlement period is multiplied by the number of working hours referred to in Article 32, paragraph (2), the number of hours arrived at when the number so calculated is divided by the quotient arrived at when the number of days in the settlement period is divided by seven)", and the phrase "paragraph (1) of that Article" is deemed to be replaced with " paragraph (1) of that Article".

The provisions of paragraph (2) of the preceding Article apply mutatis mutandis to an agreement establishing the particulars set forth in the items of paragraph (1); provided, however, that this does not apply if the settlement period is one month or shorter in length.

If the period during which an employer, pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) of the preceding Article, has had a worker work falls within, but is shorter than, a settlement period that exceeds one month in length, and during that period, the employer has had a worker work an average of more than 40 hours per week, the employer must pay that worker premium wages for time worked in excess of the 40-hour-per-week average (other than time by which the employer has extended working hours or the time that the employer has had the worker work on a day off, pursuant to the provisions of Article 33 or Article 36, paragraph (1)) as provided for in Article 37.

Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 32, if the employer has provided for the following particulars in a written agreement with the labor union that has been organized by a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is one, or with a person representing a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is no such union, the employer may have a worker work in excess of the working hours set forth in paragraph (1) of that Article in a specified week or weeks and may have a worker work in excess of the working hours set forth in paragraph (2) of that Article on a specified day or days, in accordance with that written agreement (including what has been prescribed as under the provisions of the following paragraph, if applicable), within a scope that does not cause the weekly average working hours for the period established in that agreement as the applicable period referred to in item (ii) of this Article to exceed 40 hours:

If, in the written agreement set forth in the preceding paragraph, the employer has divided the applicable period as provided for in item (iv) of that paragraph, and established the number of working days and total working hours for each sub-period excluding the initial sub-period, the employer, no later than 30 days before the first day of each sub-period, with the consent of the labor union that has been organized by a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is one, or of a person representing a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is no such union, and pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, must establish the working days in that sub-period within a scope that does not exceed the established number of working days and must establish the working hours for each working day within a scope that does not exceed the established total working hours.

After hearing the opinion of the Labor Policy Council, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, may establish a limit to the number of working days in an applicable period, a limit to the daily and weekly working hours in an applicable period, or a limit to the number of consecutive days within an applicable period (other than periods established as a specified period in a written agreement as referred to in paragraph (1)) or within a period that a written agreement referred to in that paragraph has established as a specified period, during which the employer may have a worker work.

The provisions of Article 32-2, paragraph (2) apply mutatis mutandis to an agreement referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article.

If the period during which an employer, pursuant to the provisions of the preceding Article, has had a worker work falls within, but is shorter than, the applicable period, and during that period, the employer has had that worker work an average of more than 40 hours per week, the employer must pay the worker premium wages for time worked in excess of the 40-hour-per-week average (other than time by which the employer has extended working hours or the time that the employer has had the worker work on a day off, pursuant to the provisions of Article 33 or Article 36, paragraph (1)) as provided for in Article 37.

Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 32, paragraph (2), if there is a written agreement with the labor union that has been organized by a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is one, or with a person representing a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is no such union, an employer may have a worker work for up to ten hours per day if that worker is employed in a business prescribed by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in which there is frequently substantial fluctuation in daily business, in which, since this is anticipated, it is found to be difficult to fix daily working hours through rules of employment or their equivalent, and in which the number of regular employees is below the number prescribed by Order of the Ministry of the Health, Labour and Welfare.

If an employer has a worker work pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the employer must notify the worker in advance of the hours it will have the worker work on each day of the week, pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

The provisions of Article 32-2, paragraph (2) apply mutatis mutandis to an agreement as referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article.

If there is a temporary need to do so due to a disaster or other unavoidable event, an employer may extend the working hours referred to in Articles 32 through 32-5 or Article 40, or may have a worker work on a day off referred to in Article 35, with the permission of the relevant government agency to the extent that is needed; provided, however, that if the urgency of the circumstances does not give the employer time to obtain the permission of the relevant government agency, it must file a notification with the relevant government agency without delay after the fact.

If a notification under the proviso to the preceding paragraph has been filed and the relevant government agency finds the extension of working hours or work on a day off to be inappropriate, it may order the employer to provide the worker thereafter with breaks or days off equivalent to the extra time that the worker was made to work.

Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1), if there is a temporary need to do so for the purposes of public service, an employer may extend the working hours referred to in Articles 32 through 32-5 or Article 40 for national public officers and local public officers engaged in the business of public agencies (other than the business set forth in Appended Table 1), or may have them work on the days off referred to in Article 35.

An employer must provide a worker with at least 45 minutes of break periods during working hours if working hours exceed 6 hours, and at least one hour of break periods during working hours if working hours exceed 8 hours.

An employer must provide all workers with the break periods referred to in the preceding paragraph at the same time; provided, however, that this does not apply if the employer has concluded a written agreement with the labor union that has been organized by a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is one, or with a person representing a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is no such union.

An employer must permit a worker to use the break periods referred to in paragraph (1) freely.

An employer must provide a worker with at least one day off per week.

The provisions of the preceding paragraph do not apply to an employer that provides a worker with 4 days off or more over the course of a four-week period.

Notwithstanding the provisions on working hours in Articles 32 through 32-5 and Article 40 (hereinafter in this Article referred to as "working hours") and the provisions on days off in the preceding Article (hereinafter in this Article referred to as "days off"), if an employer has concluded a written agreement with the labor union that has been organized by a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is one, or with a person representing a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is no such union, and has filed a notification of this agreement with the relevant government agency pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the employer may extend the working hours or have a worker work on a day off, in accordance with the provisions of that agreement.

The following particulars are to be provided for in the agreement referred to in the preceding paragraph:

The limit to the number of hours by which the employer may extend the working hours it has a worker work as referred to in item (iv) of the preceding paragraph is a number not exceeding the off-hours maximum, within the scope of the off-hours work that is ordinarily foreseeable in consideration of the workload at the workplace, trends in off-hours work, and other such circumstances.

The off-hours maximum referred to in the preceding paragraph is 45 hours per month and 360 hours per year (or 42 hours per month and 320 hours per year, if the employer has a worker work pursuant to the provisions of Article 32-4 after setting a period exceeding three months as the applicable period referred to in Article 32-4, paragraph (1), item (ii)).

Beyond what is set forth in the items of paragraph (2), the agreement referred to in paragraph (1) may establish the number of hours by which the employer may extend the working hours it has a worker work per month and the number of hours it may have a worker work on days off per month (limited in scope to fewer than 100 hours including the hours prescribed in the agreement in connection with paragraph (2), item (iv)), as well as the number of hours by which the employer may extend the working hours it has a worker work per year (limited in scope to fewer than 720 hours including the hours prescribed in the agreement in connection with that item), if it needs to temporarily have a worker work more than the off-hours maximum referred to in paragraph (3) due to an ordinarily unforeseeable, significant increase in the workload at the workplace. In such a case, the agreement referred to in paragraph (1) must also prescribe the number of months (up to six months per year) in the applicable period referred to in paragraph (2), item (ii) during which the number of hours by which the employer extends the working hours it has a worker work may exceed 45 hours per month (or 42 hours per month, if the employer has a worker work pursuant to the provisions of Article 32-4 after setting a period exceeding three months as the applicable period referred to Article 32-4, paragraph (1), item (ii)).

Even if the employer extends the working hours it has a worker work or has a worker work on a day off pursuant to an agreement as referred to in paragraph (1), it must ensure that the number of hours set forth in one of the following items meets the requirement prescribed in that item:

The Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, in order to ensure that the extension of working hours and work on days off are appropriate, may establish guidelines on the things regarding which care is to be taken regarding the extension of working hours and work on days off prescribed in agreements as referred to in paragraph (1), premium wage rates associated with the extension of working hours, and other such necessary particulars, in consideration of the health and welfare of workers, trends in off-hours work, and other such circumstances.

The employer and the labor union or person representing a majority of workers entering into an agreement as referred to in paragraph (1), in providing for the extension of working hours and work on days off in that agreement, must ensure that the content of the agreement conforms to the guidelines set forth in the preceding paragraph.

The relevant government agency may provide the employer and the labor union or person representing a majority of workers entering into an agreement as referred to in paragraph (1) with the necessary advice and guidance concerning the guidelines referred to in paragraph (7).

When providing the advice and guidance referred to in the preceding paragraph, the relevant government agency must make special considerations so as to ensure workers' health.

The provisions of paragraphs (3) through (5) and paragraph (6) (but only the parts related to items (ii) and (iii)) do not apply to any work involved in the research and development of a new technology, product, or service.

If an employer extends the working hours or has a worker work on a day off pursuant to the provisions of Article 33 or paragraph (1) of the preceding Article, it must pay premium wages for work during those hours or on those days at a rate of at least the rate prescribed by Cabinet Order within the range of not less than 25 percent and not more than 50 percent over the normal wage per working hour or working day; provided, however, that if the number of hours by which employer has extended the working hours it has an employee work exceeds 60 hours in one month, the employer must pay premium wages for work during hours in excess of those 60 hours at a rate not less than 50 percent over the normal wage per working hour.

The Cabinet Order set forth in the preceding paragraph is to be established in consideration of the welfare of workers, the trends in off-hours work and work on days off, and other such circumstances.

If, in a written agreement with the labor union that has been organized by a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is one, or with a person representing a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is no such union, an employer has established that, instead of paying the worker premium wages, it will grant a worker to whom premium wages are to be paid pursuant to the provisions of the proviso of paragraph (1) leave during which the normal wage per working hour will be paid (this excludes paid leave under the provisions of Article 39) pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, and such a worker takes that leave, the employer is not required to pay premium wages under the provisions of the proviso to that paragraph for work performed during the hours prescribed by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare as hours corresponding to the leave the worker has taken for that work in excess of the hours prescribed in the proviso to that paragraph.

If an employer has a worker work between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. (or between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. in the areas or during the times of year that the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare prescribes, if the minister finds this to be necessary), the employer must pay premium wages for work during those hours at a rate not less than 25 percent over the normal wage per working hour.

Family allowances, commutation allowances, and other wages prescribed by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare are not included in the calculation of the wage that forms the basis for the premium wages referred to in paragraph (1) and the preceding paragraph.

To apply the provisions on working hours, hours worked are aggregated, even if the hours worked were at different workplaces.

For belowground labor, working hours are deemed to be from the time of entry into the mouth of the mine until exit from the mouth of the mine, including break periods; provided, however, that in such a case, the provisions of Article 34, paragraphs (2) and (3) regarding breaks do not apply.

If a worker engages in work outside of the workplace during all or part of their working hours and it is difficult to calculate working hours, the number of hours worked is deemed to be the prescribed working hours; provided, however, that if it would normally be necessary to work in excess of the prescribed working hours in order to carry out that work, the worker is deemed to have worked for the number of hours that, pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, it is decided would normally be necessary to carry out that work.

In a case as referred to in the proviso of the preceding paragraph, if the employer has concluded a written agreement concerning the work in question with the labor union that has been organized by a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is one, or with a person representing a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is no such union, the number of hours specified in that agreement is used as the number of hours that would normally be necessary to carry out the work referred to in the proviso to that paragraph.

An employer must file the agreement set forth in the preceding paragraph with the relevant government agency pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

If an employer has provided for the following particulars in a written agreement with the labor union that has been organized by a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is one, or with a person representing a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is no such union, and the employer assigns a worker to the work set forth in item (i), that worker is deemed to have worked the hours set forth in item (ii), pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare:

The provisions of paragraph (3) of the preceding Article apply mutatis mutandis to an agreement as referred to in the preceding paragraph.

If, at a workplace where a committee has been established whose purpose is to examine and deliberate on wages, working hours, and other particulars of working conditions at the workplace concerned, and to state its opinions regarding these particulars to the person in control of the business (but only a committee that has the employer and representatives of workers at the workplace as its members), that committee adopts a resolution by a majority of four-fifths or more of its members regarding the following particulars and the employer notifies the relevant government agency of that resolution pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare; and if the employer has a worker falling under the scope of workers set forth in item (ii) carry out the work set forth in item (i) at that workplace, the worker is deemed to have worked the hours set forth in item (iii) pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare:

The committee referred to in the preceding paragraph must be one that conforms to the following items:

In order to ensure appropriate working conditions for workers engaged in covered work, and after hearing the opinion of the Labor Policy Council, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare is to set and announce guidelines regarding the particulars set forth in each item of paragraph (1) and other particulars decided upon by the committee referred to in that paragraph.

Pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, an employer that has filed a notification under paragraph (1) must regularly report on the state of implementation of the measures provided for in item (iv) of that paragraph to the relevant government agency.

To apply the provisions of Article 32-2, paragraph (1), Article 32-3, paragraph (1), Article 32-4, paragraphs (1) through (3), Article 32-5, paragraph (1), the proviso to Article 34, paragraph (2), Article 36, Article 37, paragraph (3), Article 38-2, paragraph (2), paragraph (1) of the preceding Article, and paragraphs (4) and (6) of the following Article, and the proviso to paragraph (9) of the following Article, if the committee referred to in paragraph (1) makes a decision by a majority of four-fifths or more of the members regarding a particular as provided in Article 32-2, paragraph (1), Article 32-3, paragraph (1), Article 32-4, paragraph (1) and paragraph (2), Article 32-5, paragraph (1), the proviso to Article 34, paragraph (2), Article 36, paragraph (1), paragraph (2) and paragraph (5), Article 37, paragraph (3), Article 38-2, paragraph (2), paragraph (1) of the preceding Article, and paragraph (4) and paragraph (6) of the following Article, and the proviso to paragraph (9) of the following Article, the phrase "in a written agreement with the labor union that has been organized by a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is one, or with a person representing a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is no such union" in Article 32-2, paragraph (1) is deemed to be replaced with "in a written agreement with the labor union that has been organized by a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is one, or with a person representing a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is no such union, or pursuant to a resolution of the committee referred to in Article 38-4, paragraph (1) (hereinafter referred to as a 'resolution', except in Article 106, paragraph (1))"; the term "written agreement" in Article 32-3, paragraph (1), Article 32-4, paragraphs (1) through (3), Article 32-5, paragraph (1), the proviso to Article 34, paragraph (2), Article 36, paragraph (2) and paragraphs (5) through (7), Article 37, paragraph (3), Article 38-2, paragraph (2), paragraph (1) of the preceding Article, and paragraph (4) and paragraph (6) of the following Article, and the proviso to paragraph (7) of the following Article is deemed to be replaced with "written agreement or resolution"; the phrase "with the consent of the labor union that has been organized by a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is one, or of a person representing a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is no such union" in Article 32-4, paragraph (2) is deemed to be replaced with "with the consent of the labor union that has been organized by a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is one, or of a person representing a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is no such union, or based on a resolution"; the phrases "has filed a notification of this agreement" and "in accordance with the provisions of that agreement" in Article 36, paragraph (1) are deemed to be replaced respectively with "has filed a notification of this agreement or resolution" and "in accordance with the provisions of that agreement or resolution"; the phrases "or the person representing a majority of the workers entering into an agreement as referred to in paragraph (1)" and "that agreement" in Article 36, paragraph (8) are deemed to be replaced respectively with "or the person representing a majority of the workers entering into an agreement as referred to in paragraph (1), or the committee members making the resolution referred to in that paragraph" and "that agreement or resolution"; and the phrase "or the person representing a majority of the workers entering into an agreement as referred to in paragraph (1)" in Article 36, paragraph (9) is deemed to be replaced with "or the person representing a majority of the workers entering into an agreement as referred to in paragraph (1), or the committee members making the resolution referred to in that paragraph".

An employer must grant paid leave of 10 consecutive or nonconsecutive working days to a worker who has been employed continuously for 6 months from the day of their hiring and who has reported to work on at least 80 percent of the total working days.

Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding two paragraphs, the number of days of paid leave for a worker as set forth in the following items (excluding one whose prescribed weekly working hours are more than the hours fixed by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare) is fixed by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare based on the number of days of paid leave specified in the preceding two paragraphs in consideration of the ratio of the number of days prescribed by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare as the prescribed working days in a week for a worker with a standard employment status (referred to as "the prescribed weekly working days of a worker with a standard employment status" in item (i)) to either the number of prescribed weekly working days for the worker concerned or the average number of prescribed working days per week for the worker concerned:

Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding three paragraphs, if an employer has provided for the following particulars in a written agreement with the labor union that has been organized by a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is one, or with a person representing a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is no such union, and a worker who falls within the scope of workers set forth in item (i) requests paid leave by the hour, the employer, pursuant to the provisions of that agreement, may grant the worker paid leave by the hour for the number of days of paid leave under the provisions of the preceding three paragraphs that are set forth in item (ii):

An employer must grant paid leave under the provisions of each of the preceding paragraphs at the worker's requested timing; provided, however, that if granting the leave at the requested timing would interfere with the normal operation of the business, the employer may grant leave at a different timing instead.

Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraph, if an employer, in a written agreement with the labor union that has been organized by a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is one, or with a person representing a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is no such union, has provided for the timing at which it provides the paid leave under the provisions of paragraphs (1) through (3), the employer may provide the part of a worker's paid leave under the provisions of those paragraphs that exceeds 5 days based on that agreement.

For each worker, an employer must grant five days of the paid leave under the provisions of paragraphs (1) through (3) (but only the paid leave associated with workers to whom the employer must grant 10 working days or more of paid leave pursuant to those provisions; hereinafter the same applies in this paragraph and the following paragraph) within one year of the base date (meaning the first day of each of the one-year sub-periods into which the period of continuous employment is divided beginning at the six-month mark (including any period of less than one year constituting the last of those sub-periods)) at the timing the employer sets; provided, however, if an employer decides to grant the paid leave under the provisions of paragraphs (1) through (3) before the base date with which it is associated, it must grant that leave at the timing it sets for each worker pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraph, if an employer has granted a worker the paid leave under paragraphs (1) through (3) pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (5) or (6), it is not required to grant leave at the timing it sets for however many of the days of paid leave it has granted pursuant to those provisions (or five days, if the number of days of paid leave so granted exceeds five days).

For a period of paid leave under the provisions of paragraphs (1) through (3) an employer must pay the average wage or the amount of wages that the worker would normally be paid for working the prescribed working hours pursuant to the rules of employment or anything equivalent thereto; and for the hours of paid leave under the provisions of paragraph (4), an employer must pay wages in the amount calculated pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare based on the average wage or the amount of wages that the worker would normally be paid for working the prescribed working hours pursuant to the rules of employment or anything equivalent thereto; provided, however, that if there is a written agreement with the labor union that has been organized by a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is one, or with a person representing a majority of the workers at that workplace, if there is no such union, which provides that the employer will pay an amount of money equivalent to one thirtieth of the monthly amount of standard remuneration provided for in paragraph (1) of Article 40 of the Health Insurance Law (Act No. 70 of 1922) for that period (with amounts of less than five yen rounded down to the nearest ten yen and amounts of at least five but less than ten yen rounded up to the nearest ten yen) or that the employer will pay an amount of money calculated pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare based on the aforementioned amount for those hours, the payment of wages is governed by that agreement.

To apply the provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2), a worker is deemed to have reported for work in a period during which the worker was absent from work due to medical treatment for an injury sustained or illness suffered in the course of employment, in a period during which the worker was on child care leave as prescribed in Article 2, item (i) of the Act on Childcare Leave, Caregiver Leave, and Other Measures for the Welfare of Workers Caring for Children or Other Family Members or was on family care leave as prescribed in item (ii) of that Article, or in a period during which the female worker was absent from work before or after childbirth in accordance with the provisions of Article 65.

Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare may establish separate provisions on the working hours referred to in Articles 32 through 32-5 and on the breaks referred to in Article 34, for a business other than that as set forth in items (i) through (iii), item (vi) and item (vii) of Appended Table 1, for which this needs to be done in order to avoid a public inconvenience or for which there is any other special need to do so, to the extent to which the need to do so is unavoidable.

The separate provisions set forth in the preceding paragraph must conform closely to the standards set forth in this Act and must not harm the health or welfare of workers.

The provisions prescribed in this Chapter, Chapter VI, and Chapter VI-2 concerning working hours, breaks and days off do not apply to a worker falling under one of the following items:

If, at a workplace where a committee has been established whose purpose is to examine and deliberate on wages, working hours, and other particulars of working conditions at the workplace concerned, and to state its opinions regarding these particulars to the person in control of the business (but only a committee that has the employer and representatives of workers at the workplace as its members), that committee adopts a resolution by a majority of four-fifths or more of its members concerning the following particulars, and the employer notifies the relevant government agency of that resolution pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare; and if the employer has a worker falling under the scope of workers set forth in item (ii) (hereinafter referred to as an "covered worker" in this paragraph) carry out the work set forth in item (i) at that workplace after obtaining the consent of the covered worker in writing or through another such means that is provided for by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the provisions prescribed in this Chapter concerning the working hours, breaks, days off and premium wages for work at night time do not apply to the covered worker; provided, however, that this does not apply if the employer does not take one of the measures provided for in items (iii) through (v):

Having filed a notification under the provisions of the preceding paragraph, an employer must report the implementation status of the measures prescribed in items (iv) through (vi) of the preceding paragraph, pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

The provisions of Article 38-4, paragraph (2), paragraph (3), and paragraph (5) apply mutatis mutandis to a committee as set forth in paragraph (1).

The committee members adopting a resolution as referred to in paragraph (1) must ensure that the content of the resolution conforms to the guidelines referred to in Article 38-4, paragraph (3), as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to the preceding paragraph.

The relevant government agency may provide the necessary advice and guidance to the committee members adopting the resolution as referred to in paragraph (1) concerning the guidelines referred to in Article 38-4, paragraph (3), as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to paragraph (3).