On September 23, the sixth lecture of “2021 Series of Lectures on Global Labor Market Flexibilization and Digital Economy Employment Regulation”, organized by the CULR and co-organized by the Labor Relations Branch of Chinese Association of Human Resource Development, was held online. Professor Tomoaki Ishii from the School of Commerce at Meiji University in Japan was the keynote speaker and delivered a presentation titled “The Development of Japan's Digital Economy and the Prospects for Labor Society in the Post-Pandemic Era.” Over 180 experts, scholars, and students from inside and outside the CULR attended the online lecture.

During the lecture, Professor Tomoaki Ishii briefly introduced the development of Japan's digital economy. He mentioned that since the outbreak of the pandemic, the digital economy has provided new employment opportunities for marginalized workers such as women and young people in the traditional labor market, allowing companies to interact more flexibly with workers possessing various skills and expanding their customer base. However, it has also brought about new issues such as irregular labor conditions, work and income irregularities, and a lack of social protection, freedom of association, and collective negotiation rights. Based on survey results, he introduced the current development status of the two main types of digital labor platforms in Japan. He pointed out that during the pandemic, remote work as a new way of working had rapidly spread and gained acceptance from more people; however, platform developments based on specific locations like Uber and Uber Eats had lagged behind. Using the example of the digitalization reform of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in Japan, he emphasized the importance of digital reform in improving the convenience of online administrative procedures. He also provided further insights into the “work style reform” long pursued by the Japanese government and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on labor society. He stated that in terms of digital economy transformation, Japan lags behind in overall national strategic formulation and implementation, and needed to draw lessons and inspiration from leading digital economy countries like China.

During the discussion session, Associate Professor Guo Yuqiang, Deputy Director of the Personnel Department of the CULR, responded to various aspects such as labor society, the practice of labor rights, negotiation mechanisms of relevant parties in the process of introducing new technologies, diversification of labor forms in new technology and new industries, and how labor laws balance interests of all parties. He gave full affirmation and high praise to China for taking the lead in issuing and implementing the "Guiding Opinions on Safeguarding the Labor Rights and Interests of Workers in New Forms of Employment", supporting and regulating the development of new forms of employment, timely resolving conflicts between platform economy and digital gig workers, and effectively safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of workers in new forms of employment. He made a comparative analysis of platform labor regulations between China and Japan. During the interactive session, several scholars discussed in depth with Professor Tomoaki Ishii on topics such as the labor society pursued by Japan's "work style reform" and privacy protection and security issues in the development of digital platforms in Japan.

Tomoaki Ishii, Ph.D. in Political Science from Waseda University, Japan, is currently a professor at the School of Commerce at Meiji University, Japan, and also serves as a visiting researcher at Korea University in Korea, Stanford University in the United States, and Nanjing University in China. He studied abroad at Wabash College in Indiana, USA, and the Department of Philosophy at Peking University in his early years. He has worked at Kyodo News in Japan, the Tokyo office of the International Labour Organization, the headquarters in Geneva, and the Beijing office. In 2007, he completed his doctoral dissertation at the CULR library on "Socialist State and Trade Unions in China - The Formation Process of the Chinese-style Consultative System", with research interests in labor sociology and political sociology.

(International Office of Cooperation and Exchange)