Fat workers penalised

The traditional rice, fish and vegetable diet is now less popular in Japan as its people turn to high-calorie diets. In January electronics giant NEC began objecting to workers' appearance, supposedly in the interests of health. Workers who fail four out of six of NEC’s physical tests are warned of their problem and taken off overtime, thus reducing take-home pay. Nearly 700 workers were identified as obese in two months of NEC’s scrutiny.

Mainichi Daily News, quoted in Asian Labour Update

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