The health, labor and welfare ministry is running free telephone consultations nationwide for workers with problems including long working hours and unpaid wages.
The hotline operates during this month's campaign against death from overwork, and lines are open in Tokyo and elsewhere across the country.
The ministry gave no figures on call volumes, staffing or how many complaints have led to action. The consultations are advisory: the ministry can hear a worker's case and point to remedies, but the hotline itself cannot order an employer to pay or to cut hours.
Long working hours and unpaid wages fall under the Labor Standards Act, which the ministry's labor standards inspection offices enforce. Workers can also bring claims through those offices or the courts. The nationwide line is a first point of contact rather than an enforcement channel.