30 days marks one year since a 25-year-old female member of the Takarazuka Revue (Takarazuka City, Hyogo Prefecture) Cosmos Troupe was found suddenly dead. While the nature of employment is being questioned as the reason behind the overwork that is said to have placed a strong psychological burden on women, the reality remains unchanged. After six years with the company, members of the company transition to freelance contracts that allow them to choose work at their own discretion, but in reality they are still under the direction of the company. Free contracts have become a breeding ground for long working hours, and opera companies are being forced to make changes.

The Opera Company has an employment contract until the fifth year of joining the company, but from the sixth year onwards, the Opera Company and individual members of the company enter into freelance work contracts in order to “improve their performance in their own time” (According to the Opera Company). Changes to The woman who died was in her seventh year.

If you are a worker under an employment contract, the Labor Standards Act and other laws oblige your employer to take care of your work in a safe and healthy manner, such as keeping track of your working hours and workload and paying overtime wages. There are few such legal restrictions.

Even though the members of the troupe become freelancers, they still practice and perform on stage according to the company’s policies. Whether a person is considered a worker is determined by whether or not they are under the direction of their employer, and Teruyuki Ogoshi, an attorney who is familiar with industrial accident issues, says, “There is no debate that freelance theater troupe members are also workers.” express their views.

After the woman’s sudden death, the opera troupe admitted that it had failed to fulfill its duty of care for the safety of its members, and has strengthened its system for managing the mental and physical health of troupe members. Efforts were made to reduce the burden on troupe members by recording entry and exit times at the troupe’s facilities for rehearsals, establishing a permanent counseling room, and reducing the number of performances.

On the other hand, regarding the employment contract, chairman Koji Murakami only stated in interviews with media outlets in July, “We are discussing this as it relates to the fundamentals (of the opera company’s operations).”

Under these circumstances, on the 5th of this month, the opera company received a recommendation for correction from the Nishinomiya Labor Standards Inspection Office (Nishinomiya City, same prefecture). Although the troupe has not made its recommendations public so far, it appears that the company has pointed out deficiencies in labor management, as the company’s freelance members are effectively employees.

For employers, free contracts do not have to pay social insurance premiums or other “burdens,” making them a breeding ground for unfair working conditions. “In recent years, the problem of entering into freelance contracts even though they are actually employees has been increasing in various industries,” said attorney Ogoshi. He also pointed out that “opera companies must take measures to ensure that their labor conditions comply with the law.” (Sawa Tanaka, Saori Fujii)

Takarazuka Revue company member sudden death issue

On September 30, 2020, in Takarazuka City, Hyogo Prefecture, a female member of the Cosmos Troupe was found dead on the grounds of her condominium. It appears to be suicide. While an external investigation team set up by the opera company acknowledged overwork, it concluded that it was “unable to confirm” any power harassment by upperclassmen, and the bereaved family objected. At the end of March of this year, the opera company admitted to power harassment and reached a final agreement to apologize and compensate the family of the victim.