Сотрудники Super Nintendo World в Осаке жалуются на опасные условия труда и незаконные контракты

Super Nintendo World faces criticism for exploiting its staff Behind Mario and Peach's smiles lies a brutal work environment where employees are forced to work while wearing costumes in sweltering heat. Earlier this summer, we published an article about Super Nintendo World in Osaka, located within the Universal Studios Japan theme park. We were very pleased and appreciated the meticulous effort that went into recreating the Mushroom Kingdom. But... it turns out the theme park isn't equally enjoyable for everyone. Shukan Bunshun reports that, for employees, the situation sometimes involves potentially illegal contracts, drafted with loopholes to exploit people's dreams of working with Nintendo. It's also impossible to quit unilaterally, as doing so results in a hefty penalty fee of ¥500,000 (around £2,300/€2,700), which is said to be roughly equivalent to two months' salary at the park. The biggest problem is the heat. Osaka gets incredibly hot and humid in the summer, and in those conditions, putting on a heavily padded and heavy costume to impersonate Luigi, Toad, or someone else from the Mushroom Kingdom is an incredible strain, as several employees have testified. It remains to be seen whether this attention will lead to any changes for the employees, but we can certainly keep our fingers crossed that Nintendo itself will step in, since these practices also reflect poorly on them.