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[[File:Tsuchiura Public Employment Security Office.jpg|thumb|Tsuchiura Public Employment Security Office]]
{{nihongo|'''Hello Work'''|ハローワーク|harōwāku}} is the [[Waseieigo|Japanese English]] name for the [[Japanese government]]'s Employment Service Center,  it is a public institution based on the Employment Service Convention No. 88 (ratified in Japan on 20 October 1953) under Article 23 of the Japanese [[Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.ilo.org/tokyo/standards/list-of-conventions/WCMS_239091/lang--ja/index.htm|title=1948年の職業安定組織条約（第88号）|date=2014-03-21|access-date=2018-01-17|language=ja}}</ref> Hello Work offices maintain an extensive database of recent job offers made accessible to job seekers via an in-house [[intranet]] system and over the [[internet]]. Additionally, it manages [[Unemployment insurance (Japan)|unemployment insurance]] benefits for both Japanese and [[Gaijin|foreign]] unemployed workers, a means tested allowance paid to low-income job seekers without employment insurance who participate in [[Vocational education|vocational training]], and also provides job-matching programs to the unemployed.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/employment/back-to-work-japan_9789264227200-en|title=Back to Work: Japan:Improving the Re-employment Prospects of Displaced Workers|publisher=OECD|year=2015|isbn=9789264227194|location=Paris|language=en|doi=10.1787/9789264227200-en|series=Back to Work}}</ref>[[File:Airin Hello Work IMG 5932 20130715.JPG|thumb|Airin Hello Work Office
(Specialized in day laborers)
]]

== Operations ==
=== Facilities ===
There are 544 main offices countrywide that are responsible for administering [[unemployment benefits]], providing [[Job hunting|job search]] support and placement to registered job seekers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mhlw.go.jp/kyujin/hwmap.html|title=全国ハローワークの所在案内｜厚生労働省|website=mhlw.go.jp|language=ja|access-date=2018-01-17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hellowork.go.jp/onestop/area-info1.html|title=ハローワークインターネットサービス - 雇用関連情報一覧（求職者向け都道府県別）|website=hellowork.go.jp|language=ja|access-date=2018-01-17|archive-date=2014-10-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141012221032/https://www.hellowork.go.jp/onestop/area-info1.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> As of October 2013 the offices employ 32,765 and serve over 6.6 million people. The core of employment services – placement and counseling – are publicly provided but many of the other services can be outsourced to the [[Prefectures of Japan|prefecture]] and local governments.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Back to Work: Japan:Improving the Re-employment Prospects of Displaced Workers|publisher=OECD|year=2015|isbn=9789264227194|location=Paris|pages=169|language=en|doi=10.1787/9789264227200-en|series = Back to Work}}</ref>

=== Services ===

==== Services for job-seekers ====
Hello Work provides job-seekers with two major services:<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hellowork.go.jp/info/kyushoku_top02.html|title=ハローワークインターネットサービス - ハローワーク求職情報の提供サービスの利用団体等ご担当者様へ|website=hellowork.go.jp|language=ja|access-date=2018-01-17|archive-date=2019-07-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719001407/https://www.hellowork.go.jp/info/kyushoku_top02.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* Job application procedures (job application, employment consultation, occupation introduction)
* Employment Insurance Procedures (Unemployment etc. benefits, Employment promotion benefits, Education training benefits, continued employment benefits (continued employment of older people, [[Child care|childcare]] leave, nursing care leave))
Other services include providing information on employment/work, required qualifications and experience for finding employment, information on vocational training courses, etc.

==== Services for young job-seekers ====
Young job seekers benefit from specialized services with dedicated resources through two additional types of front offices:<ref>{{Cite book|title=Investing in Youth: Japan|publisher=OECD|year=2017|isbn=9789264275881|location=Paris|pages=155–156|language=en|doi=10.1787/9789264275898-en|series = Investing in Youth}}</ref>
* Hello Work for New Graduates was established in 2010 and provides job search support (including job openings and supporting career [[School counselor|guidance counselors]] in schools and universities) for [[student]] and young people who graduated from [[Secondary school|high school]] or [[higher education]] within the last three years and have little to no job experience. There are 57 offices as of 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/0000132220.html|title=新卒応援ハローワーク ｜厚生労働省|website=mhlw.go.jp|language=ja|access-date=2018-01-17}}</ref>
* Hello Work for Youth was established in 2012 and provides intensified job search assistance, [[interview]] training and placement to job seekers with previous experience up to the age of 45. [[Psychologist]] consultations and [[Test (assessment)|aptitude tests]] are also offered. There are 28 offices as of 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mhlw.go.jp/file/06-Seisakujouhou-11650000-Shokugyouanteikyokuhakenyukiroudoutaisakubu/0000160253.pdf|title=若者のハローワーク　ご案内|website=hellowork.go.jp|access-date=2018-01-17}}</ref>

==== Services for foreign job-seekers ====
Hello Work recommends that [[foreign residents in Japan]] improve their [[Japanese language]] skills, and as a way to do this it suggests Japanese classes. Tokyo Hello Work suggests the "Tokyo Nihongo Volunteer Network", founded in 1993, which offers free Japanese lessons.<ref>Tokyo Employment Service for Foreigners website [http://tokyo-foreigner.jsite.mhlw.go.jp/english/seekers_1/offer.html Japanese classes offered by volunteers] Retrieved on March 5th 2012</ref> Almost-free Japanese classes are also offered by many [[Multiculturalism#Japan|Japanese "International Society" NPOs]] funded by local governments throughout Japan.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tokyo-international.org/ |title=International Societies in Japan |publisher=Tokyo-international.org |access-date=2010-12-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226025402/http://www.tokyo-international.org/ |archive-date=2012-02-26 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Not all offices offer services in languages other than Japanese. Those that do only offer them during limited hours and in limited languages. Usually [[English language|English]] and [[Mandarin Chinese]] services are available, and some offices offer services in [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], or other languages.<ref>Tokyo Employment Service for Foreigners website [http://tokyo-foreigner.jsite.mhlw.go.jp/english/spec_1.html Hello Work Offices with foreign language assistance (throughout Japan)] Retrieved on March 5th 2012</ref> There are a number of centers that specialize in support for foreigners:
*Shinjuku Foreigners' Employment Assistance and Guidance Center
*Nagoya Employment Service Center for Foreigners
*Osaka Employment Service Center for Foreigners
*Hamamatsu Employment Service Center for Foreigners

==== Services for employers ====
Regarding employers, its main services are [[Human resource management|human resources]] (job offering, introduction of applicants) and application for employment insurance.

Hello Work also provides [[Subsidy|subsidies]] and benefits for employers including:
* Subsidy for employers who have to perform employment adjustment.
* [[Grant (money)|Grants]] for employers hiring people.
* Grants for business owners who wish to start business or develop into new fields.
* Grants for business owners who do capacity development.
* Other grants.
Other services include employment management services (consultation and assistance concerning recruitment and placement, assistance for employment management of the elderly and disabled) and providing information.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hellowork.go.jp/info/kyushoku_top01.html|title=ハローワークインターネットサービス - ハローワーク求職情報サービスの提供サービスを利用する求職者の方へ|website=hellowork.go.jp|language=ja|access-date=2018-01-17}}</ref>

== Issues ==

=== Misleading job offers ===

An investigation had found that at least 41 percent of job advertisers were misleading job-seekers by listing exaggerated pay and conditions. Applicants reported being forced to work longer hours than described, and for less pay, and being told to sacrifice holidays they were entitled to by law.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/12/25/national/41-of-hello-work-job-ads-are-misleading-ministry-probe-finds/|title=41% of Hello Work job ads are misleading, ministry probe finds|last=Kodera|first=Atsushi|date=2014-12-25|work=The Japan Times Online|access-date=2018-01-17|language=en-US|issn=0447-5763}}</ref>

=== Dangerous work overseas ===

In March 2005, a study published in the [[Japanese Communist Party]]’s agency newspaper ''[[Shimbun Akahata]]'' found that recruitment of Japanese workers working in [[Iraq]] as construction contractors with high salaries were undertaken in Japan and published as Job Openings on Hello Work. At the time, the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] had issued a recommendation for the evacuation of Japanese citizens in Iraq. According to Hello Work [[Nagasaki]], although they had introduced two people, the company in question asked for a withdrawal of the job offer around March 10 of the same year.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jcp.or.jp/akahata/aik4/2005-03-28/01_01.html|title=職業安定所に求人票/働く場所は戦地イラク/月５０万円以上　元請けは隠す|website=jcp.or.jp|language=ja|access-date=2018-01-17}}</ref>

=== Harassment case at the Hello Work office in Shizuoka city ===

A 40-year-old female part-time employee who was forced to take a temporary leave due to her boss at the Hello Work office in the [[Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka|Shimizu Ward]] of [[Shizuoka, Shizuoka|Shizuoka City]] on 10 August 2017 filed a suit against the [[Judicial system of Japan|Shizuoka District Court]] for about 6.3 million [[Japanese yen|yen]] in [[reparation (legal)|reparation]]s. According to the complaint, in January 2015 the plaintiff's boss hit her left arm three times. The woman was subsequently diagnosed with [[Depression (mood)|depression]] and [[Anxiety disorder|anxiety]], taking a total of about 5 months off work.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.sanspo.com/geino/news/20170810/tro17081017590007-n1.html|title=ハローワーク勤務の女性「上司がパワハラ」と提訴|work=SANSPO.COM|access-date=2018-01-17|language=ja-JP}}</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
{{Commons category|Public Employment Security Office (Japan)}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100210115852/http://www.tfemploy.go.jp/en/sitemap.html Sitemap (in English) of the official website of the Japan Employment Service Center]
* [https://www.hellowork.go.jp/ Official website (in Japanese)]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare]]
[[Category:Employment agencies of Japan]]
[[Category:Labor in Japan]]
[[Category:Public employment service]]
[[Category:Social security in Japan]]