Know Your Rights: What to Do If a Company Violates Labor Law in Japan

If you've been working unusually long hours without extra pay, felt pressured to resign, or experienced treatment that just doesn't feel right, you might be dealing with employment rights violations in Japan, and you're far from alone.

Japan's workplace culture puts a strong emphasis on endurance and group harmony, which can make it genuinely difficult to tell whether something is just "how things are done" or whether it's actually illegal. 

Some of the most normalized behaviors in certain workplaces are actually violations, and you should be aware of them. 

Please note that Japan Dev does not list or endorse the kind of exploitative “black companies” described in this article. Our job listings only feature companies that meet our standards, so if you found your job through us, you're already in a much better starting position.

In this article, we walk you through the most common ones, what the law actually requires, and what you can do when your company isn't following the rules.

Employment Rights Violations in Japan: Pay and Hours

The most measurable violations are the ones that show up directly on your payslip or time records. They're also among the easiest to document and pursue.

Unpaid Overtime Japan (Japan Unpaid Overtime Legal Action)

Unpaid overtime is probably the single most common labor law complaint in Japan. 

Under the Labor Standards Act, the standard workweek is 40 hours, with a maximum of 8 hours per day. Any work beyond that is overtime and must be compensated, typically at a rate of at least 25% above your regular hourly wage, rising to 50% for hours beyond 60 per month or work done late at night (10 PM to 5 AM).

One thing to check before coming to any conclusions is: みなし残業 (minashi zangyo), or predetermined overtime, a system where a fixed number of overtime hours is built into your monthly salary upfront. 

If your contract includes this, your base pay already covers a set amount of overtime, but only up to the hours specified. Any hours beyond that still need to be paid separately. If you're regularly working well past your predetermined overtime hours and seeing nothing extra on your payslip, that's a problem. 

For a deeper look at how overtime works in Japan, check out our guide.

Reporting Excessive Working Hours Japan

Japan's Labor Standards Act sets the legal ceiling at 40 hours per week and 8 hours per day. 

Overtime beyond this requires a special agreement between the employer and employees, called a 36 Agreement (36協定), and even then, there are caps. Generally, the limit is 45 hours per month and 360 hours per year, with temporary exceptions allowing up to 100 hours in a single month under strict conditions.

The law also mandates break periods based on how long you work. Employees working more than 6 hours are entitled to at least a 45-minute break; those working more than 8 hours are entitled to at least one full hour. 

If you're consistently skipping lunch at your desk and clocking 12-hour days with no proper break, your employer may be in violation on multiple counts. 

For more information, read our guide on Japanese work hours and systems.

Failure to Provide Paid Leave

Every employee in Japan who has worked for the same company for six months and has shown up for at least 80% of their scheduled days is legally entitled to paid leave. The number of days scales with tenure:

• 6 months: 10 days

• 1.5 years: 11 days

• 2.5 years: 12 days

• 3.5 years: 14 days

• 4.5 years: 16 days

• 5.5 years: 18 days

• 6.5 years and beyond: 20 days

Part-time employees have entitlements too, which vary based on their contracted weekly hours and days worked. You can find the details in our article on annual paid leave and other contract benefits.

If your company is outright refusing to let you use your paid leave, or if there's an unspoken culture where taking days off is treated as a personal failing, that's a violation. 

As of 2019, employers are legally required to ensure that employees take at least 5 days of paid leave per year. You can find more details on leave entitlements in our post on employee benefits.

Underpayment or Below-Minimum Wage

Every prefecture in Japan sets its own minimum wage, revised annually between October and March. The specific rate depends on where your employer is located, and you cannot legally be paid less than that rate, even if your contract says otherwise.

Common employer errors include failing to account for all hours worked when calculating wages, improperly deducting commuting or meal allowances from the wage base, and misclassifying workers in ways that result in lower pay rates. 

Our article on minimum wage in Japan has up-to-date figures by prefecture, so it’s worth a read if you’re curious. If you want to better understand your payslip, the payroll practices guide is another good resource to check out.

Non-Payment of Bonuses or Statutory Benefits

If something is written into your contract or into the company's work rules (就業規則), it's legally binding. 

Bonuses aren't automatically required by Japanese law, but once they appear in your employment agreement, the employer is obligated to pay them. The same goes for statutory benefits like social and employment insurance. Failing to enroll employees in these programs is illegal. If it's happening to you, do take notes.

For a full breakdown of what you're entitled to, read our employee benefits in Japan guide.

Employment Laws in Japan: Discrimination, Harassment, and Dismissal

Beyond pay and hours, Japanese employment law covers how you're treated on the job. These violations are often harder to document, but that doesn't make them less serious.

Discrimination

Japan's Equal Employment Opportunity Law (EEOL) prohibits discrimination in hiring, assignment, promotion, and dismissal on the basis of gender. 

The Labor Standards Act extends broader protections covering nationality and social status as well. In practice, discrimination can be subtle and can show up as:

• Being passed over for promotion without a clear reason

• Being assigned limited or trivial work

• Facing different treatment compared to Japanese colleagues in equivalent roles

Foreign workers sometimes experience discrimination packaged in vague language, such as being told a role requires "native-level Japanese" when the actual work doesn't demand it, or being left out of information that’s accessible to everyone else on the team. 

These patterns, when tied to nationality, can constitute illegal employment practices in Japan, even when nothing explicitly discriminatory is said out loud.

Sadly, Japan's legal approach to racial discrimination is less developed than its gender discrimination protections, which makes some complaints harder to pursue. That said, documenting patterns of unequal treatment is still worth it if you eventually decide to escalate things.

Power Harassment in Japan and Other Workplace Harassments

Japan has a dedicated Power Harassment Prevention Law, which came into full effect for all companies in 2022. Power harassment (パワハラ, pawahara) is legally defined as any action that meets these three conditions: 

• Comes from a position of superior bargaining power

• Goes beyond what's necessary for legitimate work

• Damages the working environment

Practically speaking, this covers verbal abuse or constant harsh criticism, deliberate exclusion from meetings or team activities, assigning tasks that are clearly impossible or meaninglessly trivial, and prying into someone's personal life. 

Beyond pawahara, there's also sexual harassment (セクハラ, sekuhara), maternity harassment (マタハラ, matahara) targeting employees for being pregnant or taking parental leave, and caregiver harassment (ケアハラ, keahara), which affects employees who need time off to care for a sick family member.

For a detailed breakdown of what power harassment looks like and what you can do about it, check out our guide. If you want to understand the broader cultural dynamics that make some of these behaviors hard to identify, The tricky parts of navigating a Japanese workplace is a good read as well.

Illegal Dismissal or Forced Resignation

Under Japanese labor law, dismissal without objectively reasonable grounds is considered an abuse of rights and is invalid. Employers can't fire someone without documented cause, and the bar for what counts is fairly high. 

Cases of forced resignation are trickier. This happens when an employer creates a hostile or uncomfortable environment until the employee feels they have no choice but to quit. This is a known tactic, and it can undermine your legal standing if you resign voluntarily rather than being formally dismissed.

If you find yourself in this situation, do not resign before understanding your rights and options. Our guide on getting fired in Japan is a good starting point, and it's worth checking out how Japanese labor contracts work to understand what protections you have from the get-go.

Japan Labor Laws for Foreigners: What's Different

Most labor protections in Japan apply equally to foreign nationals and Japanese employees. The Labor Standards Act, the minimum wage, paid leave entitlements, and harassment protections all cover you regardless of your nationality or visa status. 

That said, there are a few things worth knowing as a foreign worker specifically.

The biggest one is the visa question. Many foreign workers worry that complaining about their employer could cost them their visa. It won't, and that fear is something employers count on. 

Your company does not have the authority to cancel your work visa. Only the Immigration Bureau can do that, and filing a labor complaint does not trigger any immigration consequences. If you resign or are dismissed, your visa doesn't disappear immediately either. 

Depending on your visa type, you usually have between 30 days and 3 months to stay in Japan while you sort out your next steps. You can't work for your previous employer in that window, and staying beyond the permitted period without notifying immigration is illegal, so be sure to check your visa conditions carefully.

The second issue is language. Filing a complaint, reading legal documents, and negotiating with your employer all become significantly harder when Japanese isn't your first language. 

This is where multilingual labor consultation services are genuinely useful. Some Labor Bureaus and city offices offer support in English and other languages. It's worth calling ahead to ask before you visit.

What to Do When Your Company Violates Employment Law: How Do I Complain About A Company Japan

Knowing your company is in the wrong is one thing. Doing something about it is another. Here's how to approach it, step by step.

Step 1: Document Everything

Start documenting everything immediately. 

Keep a private log, ideally off any company device or network, that records dates, times, locations, what was said or done, and who witnessed it. Save emails, chat messages, and payslips as well. 

If you've been working overtime, track those hours yourself with screenshots or personal notes. If things ever escalate to a formal complaint or legal action, this documentation is your foundation.

Step 2: Check Your Contract and Company Rules

Before escalating anything, re-read your employment contract and the company's work rules (就業規則). 

These documents define what you were promised. Anything that deviates from them is a specific violation, which you can take note of. This step also helps you distinguish between a bad workplace culture and an actual breach of law.

Step 3: Use Internal Channels First (If Safe)

Companies in Japan are legally required to provide a consultation desk (相談窓口) for harassment-related issues. 

If your situation involves harassment, start there, assuming you feel safe doing so. For wage or hours issues, your HR department or a manager above the one causing the problem may be the right first contact. Be sure to document these conversations.

Step 4: Contact the Labor Standards Inspection Office (労働基準監督署)

If internal channels don't work, or if you don't feel safe using them, the Labor Standards Inspection Office (Rodo Kijun Kantokusho) is your next step. 

This government body investigates labor law complaints in Japan and can take action against employers who are in violation. You can file a complaint in person, and they're required to investigate. 

The process is free. You can find your nearest office via the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) website.

For harassment cases specifically, Labor Bureaus (労働局) offer free mediation services and can intervene between you and your employer without requiring you to go to court.

Step 5: Look Into Hello Work or a Labor Union

Hello Work (ハローワーク) is Japan's job placement agency, but it can also direct you to relevant labor resources and support services. 

Joining or consulting a labor union is another route you can take. Unions in Japan have real legal consequences, so they can negotiate on your behalf, even if you're not a permanent employee. General unions (合同労組, gōdō rōsō) accept individual members regardless of employer, which makes them accessible even when your company has no in-house union.

Some cities have multilingual labor consultation centers that can explain your rights in English or other languages, which is worth seeking out if language is making things harder.

Step 6: Consult a Lawyer, But Weigh the Cost First

If you've lost money because of your company's actions, a labor lawyer (弁護士) can help you pursue compensation. Be realistic about costs, though. 

Legal fees add up quickly, and depending on the amount of unpaid wages involved, hiring a lawyer may not be the most practical route. Many lawyers offer a free initial consultation, which is worth using just to understand your options. For smaller disputes, the labor bureau's mediation process is often faster and more cost-effective.

If you decide to pursue legal action and want to understand the resignation process, our guide on how to quit your job in Japan walks you through notice periods and paperwork.

One thing that often gets overlooked: When you leave a company under difficult circumstances, make sure you're clear on your social and employment insurance entitlements. Unemployment insurance (雇用保険) can cover you financially while you search for your next role, and if your employer failed to enroll you properly, that's another violation worth raising. 

Our guide to social and employment insurance in Japan has all the details and is worth checking out.

A Note on Black Companies

Some of what's described above isn't a one-off mistake by an otherwise decent employer. It's a pattern. In Japan, companies that systematically exploit their workers through excessive hours, unpaid wages, harassment, and psychological pressure have a name: ブラック企業 (black companies). 

If multiple violations are happening at once and the culture seems designed to wear people down, you're likely looking at one of these.

Recognizing this matters because it clarifies the situation: It's not that you're unlucky or too sensitive or failing to adapt. It's that your employer is operating outside the law. Knowing this can help you make clearer decisions about whether to try fixing things internally or getting out while building your case in parallel.

If you're in a black company, the steps above still apply, but it’s still good to be realistic. Internal channels at these companies are often useless or actively hostile. Going directly to an external body from the start is often the smarter call.

Conclusion on Exploitative Company Japan and Company Violations

Japan has solid labor protections, but they only help you if you know they exist and know how to use them. 

Whether you're dealing with unpaid overtime, reporting excessive working hours, harassment, or an illegal dismissal, you have real options, from filing a labor law complaint in Japan to pursuing mediation or legal action.

The sooner you start documenting what's happening and understanding your rights, the stronger your position will be. 

Don't wait until you've already resigned or burned out to start taking notes. And if you're a foreign worker worried about your visa status, remember that your company cannot touch that. You have protections. Use them.

If you're ready to move on, Japan Dev is a safe place to start looking. We vet every company on our platform, and the types of employers discussed in this article don't make the cut.