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black business

Vending machines in Tokyo Station not getting restocked, exploitative “black company” to blame

Employees go on landmark strike to tackle unpaid overtime, receive overwhelming support from netizens.

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Security camera catches a Chinese man trying to murder his girlfriend by shoving her down a manhole

A CCTV security camera in Haikou, China captured what looks like a man shoving a woman down a manhole then covering up the spot with cardboard. The incident happened in mid-December but the video is making its way around the Internet right now.

The pair reportedly had a relationship and the man owed her $20,000.

The woman was rescued 60 hours later when she was heard crying for help. The manhole was three meters deep, according to TomoNews. The woman tried to make a ladder out of clothes but it didn’t work.

“I did not sleep at all the first night I fell in the manhole,” the woman, Guo, was quoted as saying. “I could see the darkness around me. I thought that I would not be choked to death if I looked up.”

Here’s the video of what appears to be attempted murder and of the rescue.

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Could Japan’s Latest Buzz Word Get You Sued? Lawyer Weighs In

One coinage that has been steadily building in popularity in the economically mired nation of Japan is “black business” (burakku kigyou). A black business is described as a company that overworks its employees, harasses them, and/or pays significantly low wages for the work provided.

The term, which can be traced back to the 2011 book by Haruki Konno, Black Business: The Monster Devouring Japan, is frequently used on blogs and social networks. Infamous message board 2channel even has a thread which ranks the blackest of companies in Japan.

But with all the bandying about of this phrase, one has to wonder what the legal dangers are of it. Black or not, these companies will do what it takes to protect their brand and to anyone who slaps the black business label on them, will slap back with a lawsuit.

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