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Terminations in Japan: A Guide for Employers

A country’s policy toward employee termination will often depend on how the employer-employee relationship is viewed. In Japan, many workers will remain with the same employer for many years, and expect the same loyalty in return.

Oct 15, 2021

Tim Burgess

Director, Shield GEO Services Ltd

Terminations in Japan: A Guide for Employers

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Because of this business culture, employee terminations are not favored when initiated by the employer, and will require justification.

If you are considering hiring a Japanese employee, this guide will explain what to expect if you want to terminate them at some point.

On what grounds can you terminate an employee in Japan?

Japan has a very stringent termination policy which makes it difficult to dismiss employees except under extreme circumstances. Failure to show some reasonable grounds for the dismissal will be deemed an ‘abuse of rights’ of the employee if they decide to make a claim.

Dismissal for Cause

Justifiable cause for dismissal is a very narrow category and includes:

Incapacity due to... read more

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Tim Burgess

Director, Shield GEO Services Ltd