Scandinavian Airlines Case ----- Tokyo District Court Decision on April 13, 1995

 

Summary

Employees of a foreign airline company sought a provisional disposition for preservation of their position and provisional payment of wages on the grounds that their dismissal was invalid because they were dismissed due to rationalization such as business restructuring and downsizing at the Japanese branch of the airline.

The company offered to rehire some of the employees after giving them early retirement and changing their working conditions, such as the type of work specified in their labor contracts, but the employees refused the offer and were dismissed.

Point of Decision

Criteria for Determining the Validity of Dismissal by Notice of Termination with Changes.

Judgment

A framework for judgment separate from the doctrine of abuse of dismissal.

Reason

The company's notice of intent to dismiss is a notice of termination in order to change the working conditions specified in the labor contract, in other words, it is a termination of the existing labor contract with an offer to enter into a new contract, which is called a "notice of termination with changes”.

About notice of termination with changes,

 -The change in the working conditions of the workers is indispensable for the operation of the company's business.

 -The necessity of the change exceeds the disadvantages that the worker will suffer from the change in working conditions, and the offer to enter into a new contract with a change in working conditions is deemed compelling enough to justify dismissal if the worker does not accept the offer.

 -And the company has made sufficient efforts to avoid dismissal.

 Based on the above three points, it is reasonable to conclude that the company can dismiss a worker who does not respond to the offer to enter into a new contract.

⇒Considering the company's business situation in this case, the degree of disadvantage suffered by the worker, and the circumstances leading up to the dispute, the notice of termination with changes in this case satisfies the above requirements, and the dismissal in this case is valid.

Please note that the court case listed here is individual case and may be judged differently depending on the case.

Court Decisions on Dismissal _Singapore Development Bank Case, Osaka District Court, June 23, 2000

◆Tendency of judgments on location limitation and the doctrine of dismissal for reorganization

The effect of the limited work location on the decision of the law of dismissal for the purpose of reorganization is small, and it tends to be the case that reassignment is often requested as an effort to avoid dismissal.

◆Summary

A number of employees involved in remittance and foreign exchange export operations at a foreign-affiliated company were terminated following the closure of their Osaka branch. They argued that the dismissal did not meet the four requirements for a valid restructuring dismissal, that it constituted an abuse of the right to dismiss, and that it was therefore invalid. They sought confirmation of their status as employees with rights under their labor contracts, along with payment of wages, interest on delayed payment, and compensation for pain and suffering.

◆Points of Judgment

Whether efforts were made to avoid dismissal and whether the selection of dismissed employees was reasonable.

◆Judgment

The dismissal was judged to be valid because the other requirements for dismissal by liquidation were also satisfied.

◆Reason

The workers in question were found to be limited to the Osaka branch where they were hired. The limitation of the place of employment gives the workers the benefit of not being transferred without their consent, but does not give the employer the benefit of not having them transferred. Therefore, the target of personnel reduction is not automatically determined to be the employees of the branch to be closed.

⇒ For employees of branches scheduled to close, the possibility of avoiding layoff depends on whether they can be reassigned to other branches, given the unavoidable nature of the closure. 

◆Possibility of transfer

-It cannot be said that it was unfair that the Tokyo Branch did not solicit voluntary retirement in order to transfer the said workers to the other branch.

-The company's decision to transfer the workers to the Tokyo branch office, where there are no vacancies, is not reasonable because it would mean that employees who are skilled in the work at the Tokyo branch office would be forced to resign, and then the workers would be put in charge of work that they are not skilled in, depending on the nature of the work.

 ⇒ In light of the above, it cannot be said that the company lacked efforts to avoid dismissal, and it is unavoidable that the employees of the Osaka branch would be subject to dismissal if they cannot be transferred.

Apply for change of status of residence from "College Student" to "Work" as soon as possible!

 ◆Immigration Service Agency appeals

 For companies planning to hire foreign students from next April, it is recommended to apply for change of status of residence as early as possible. The Immigration Service Agency is calling for applications to be submitted between December 1 and the end of January, as applications by foreign students who plan to join a company in April are concentrated between January and March every year, and there is a possibility that the screening process will not be completed by the desired date if there are insufficient or late documents submitted. Before applying, please refer to the list of documents to be submitted on the Immigration Service  Agency's website and carefully check that all the necessary documents are in order. Insufficient documents may delay the date of the result and affect the procedure for joining the company.

◆New cases where required documents can be omitted

 From December 1, 2025, when applying for permission to change status of residence from "College Student" to "Engineer/Humanities/International Services" or "Research," it will be possible to omit some of the required documents if any of the following apply (temporary employment is not applicable). It is advisable to confirm whether or not you are eligible before submitting the application.

 1) Graduates (or prospective graduates) of Japanese universities (including graduates of graduate and junior colleges)

 2) Graduates of excellent universities abroad: Foreign universities ranked in the top 300 in two or more of the three world university rankings are eligible.

 3) When working at an institution that currently accepts individuals who have received permission to change their status of residence from “Student” to a work-eligible status: This applies when a foreign national holding the desired status of residence (limited to those who have received permission to change from the “Student” status) is currently employed by the institution and has received at least one extension of stay while working at that institution.

The Immigration Service Agency

To those who are planning to apply for a change of status from "College Student" to "Worker" 

https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/10_00240.html

One Year after the Enforcement of the Freelance Law, Current Status of Guidance on Violations

 

◆445 cases of violations

November 1 marked one year since the enforcement of the Freelance Business Transactions Law (hereinafter referred to as the "Freelance Law"), and the Fair Trade Commission, Small and Medium Enterprise Agency, and Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, which are the ministries and agencies under the jurisdiction of the Law, announced the results of a survey (November 2024 to September 2025) conducted among 30,000 ordering businesses regarding their transactions with freelance workers. The results of the survey are now publicly available.

According to the results, the Fair Trade Commission issued 4 "recommendations" and 441 "instructions" for violations of the Freelance Law. The recommendations were made to major publishing companies, music schools, and others for violations of Article 3, Paragraph 1 (obligation to clearly state business terms), Article 4, Paragraph 5 (obligation to pay remuneration on time), and Article 5, Paragraph 2, Item 1 (prohibition of requests to provide unfair economic benefits) of the Act.

In addition, in March of this year, the Committee intensively investigated businesses in the game software industry, animation production work, and relaxation industry, and instructed 45 companies to correct the descriptions in contracts and purchase orders, the method of placing orders, and the method of setting payment due dates.

 ◆Attention should also be paid to anti-harassment measures and recruitment.

According to prefectural labor bureaus, there have been many cases of guidance, etc. concerning violations of the obligation to establish a system for anti-harassment measures (Article 14 of the Freelance Law) and the obligation to accurately display recruitment information (Article 14 of the same law).

The ordering business must take measures such as establishing a system for consultation to prevent harassment from harming the working environment of freelancers.

When recruiting freelancers through advertisements, etc., the information must not be false or misleading, and must be kept accurate and up-to-date.

When outsourcing work to freelancers, it is necessary to reconfirm the items regulated by the Freelance Law.

Record of the regular press conference of the Director-General dated November 5, 2025, Fair Trade Commission of Japan.
https://www.jftc.go.jp/houdou/teirei/2025/251105.html

Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare "One year has passed since the enforcement of the Act on the Proper Treatment of Transactions between Freelancers and Business Operators!
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/bunya/freelance_00006.html

Support Tools for Explaining HR and Labor Matters to Foreign Workers

Japanese legal systems and employment practices are often unfamiliar to foreign workers. For this reason, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) has issued support tools to help explain workplace rules, including the reasons and background, to deepen understanding.

 ◆"Key Points and Examples for Labor Management in Workplaces with Foreign Employees"

The book covers nine themes such as recruitment, wages, working hours, etc., and provides for each actual situation that can be assumed in employment management: 

(1) Points that should be read and understood before explaining to non-Japanese employees

(2) Examples of explanations in "easy Japanese" that can actually be spoken and shown to foreign nationals as they are.

 For example, regarding documents to be submitted by workers after being hired, it is explained with rubi annotations that "In Japan, the company will calculate taxes and insurance on your behalf. Please provide the company with the necessary information so that we can do this for you.” 

 ◆Multilingual Glossary for Employment Management

This glossary provides definitions and example sentences for approximately 420 labor- and social insurance-related terms commonly used in hr and labor management situations. In addition to easy Japanese, 9 languages (English, Korean, Chinese (simplified and traditional), Tagalog, Vietnamese, Nepali, Portuguese, Spanish, Indonesian, Cambodian, Thai, Myanmarese, and Mongolian) are supported.

 When explaining employment regulations, etc. to foreign workers, it is expected to search for terms that may be difficult to understand and provide translations, or to be used by the foreign employees themselves as a dictionary and for pre-employment learning of hr and labor-related terms.

 ◆Model Employment Regulations, etc.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's Model Employment Regulations are also available in foreign languages. In addition, there is a "Working Conditions Handbook" for foreign nationals working in Japan, as well as educational materials and resources useful for preventing work-related accidents involving foreign workers.

[Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, "Are you having trouble explaining hr and labor issues to foreign nationals?"]

https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/koyou_roudou/koyou/jigyounushi/tagengoyougosyu.html

[Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, "Safety and Health Management for Foreign Workers"]

https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/0000186714.html

National Tax Agency has released "How to Make Year-End Adjustment”

The National Tax Agency has released a 64-page pamphlet entitled "How to Make Year-End Adjustment for 2025.” There are several changes in this year's year-end adjustment. It is important for companies to check and prepare for the changes as early as possible. The pamphlet lists the following three points as "changes compared to last year.”

 ◆Revised items for year-end adjustment

 1 Revision of basic deduction for income tax, etc.

 (1) Revision of basic deduction: The amount of basic deduction ranges from 580,000 yen to 950,000 yen depending on total income.

 (2) Revision of deduction for employment income: The minimum amount to be guaranteed is 650,000 yen.

 (3) Establishment of special deduction for specified relatives: For relatives between 19 and 23 years of age who share the same livelihood with the income earner and whose total income exceeds 580,000 yen and does not exceed 1,230,000 yen (specified relatives), the deduction ranges from 30,000 yen to 630,000 yen depending on the total income amount.

 (4) Revision of income requirements for dependents: Total income requirement for spouse and dependents earning the same livelihood is 580,000 yen or less.

 2 Special deduction for housing loans based on the method using the year-end balance statement (statement method).

 3 Key points to consider regarding payroll tax withholding procedures for salaries in Fiscal Year 2026 and beyond.

 Employee understanding of the system is essential for error-free year-end adjustments. For this reason, please check the pamphlet published this time and the "Page for Understanding the Year-end Adjustment" (National Tax Agency) scheduled to be released in October, and make sure that your employees are aware of the revised points.

 National Tax Agency, "How to make year-end adjustments for 2025."

 https://www.nta.go.jp/publication/pamph/gensen/nencho2025/pdf/nencho_all.pdf

Myna Insurance Card will be available on smartphones from September

Currently, My number card holders can use the functions of their My number card on their smartphones by downloading an application, but from September, the functions of the Myna Insurance Card will be available at medical institutions and other facilities where the equipment is ready.

 ◆How can I use mynumber insurance card with my smartphone?

In order to use your my number card with a smartphone, you need to download the mynaportal application. And you must prepare the following

 The actual my number card

 PIN number (4-digit number) for entering the card   *only for iPhone

 Password for the digital certificate for signing the My Number Card (6 to 16 alphanumeric digits set at the municipal office)

From the Myna Portal application, hold up your My Number card to your smartphone and scan it to complete the login. After logging in, register your My Number Card for health insurance card use.

Next, the functions of your My Number Card will be installed in your smartphone. For details, please refer to the following website of the Digital Agency.

 Digital Agency "My Number Card on Smartphone

 https://www.digital.go.jp/policies/mynumber/smartphone-certification

 ◆Operation at reception

The reception procedure at medical institutions, etc., uses a card reader with face recognition, in the same way as when accepting a medical application with a mina-number insurance card. Select the appropriate terminal on the reception screen, authenticate yourself at the terminal, and proceed to enter consent information when you hold your smartphone-equipped mina-insurance card over the general-purpose card reader for smartphones.

 ◆How long can I use the conventional health insurance card?

Conventional health insurance cards will expire sequentially (the longest expiration date is December 1 of this year) as a result of the transition to the myna insurance card. Therefore, for those who do not have a Myna insurance card or have not registered to use the Myna insurance card, a "certificate of eligibility" will be issued by the health insurance association or local government (for those who are enrolled in the late-stage medical care system for the elderly or those who are newly enrolled in the system, a certificate of eligibility will be issued as a provisional measure until the end of July 2026 regardless of whether they have a Myna insurance card or not. (This is a provisional measure until the end of July 2026 for those enrolled in the Late-Stage Senior Citizen's Health Care System and new enrollees, etc., regardless of their Myna insurance card status.) If you present this card at the counter of a medical institution, you will be able to receive insured medical treatment as before.