# What should I do?



## Romylyn01

I resigned my job because of sexual harassment,discrimination, long hours of work, no 1 hour break, not receiving right amount of salary,receiving 160,000 every month, overtime is already there in that amount. Working 10-12 hours everyday. The company let me rent a house and they paid the house deposit for 1 year. I resigned and they said they will not give the letter of release if I do not pay the deposit 237,000. They didnt give my last salary also 90,000 yen. And they said I need to pay 141,000. What should I do?


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## Asian Spirit

As long as you have your passport there is nothing holding you there. Just get on a plane and go home.


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## myrrh

What you do now depends upon your plans moving forward. If you are planning to leave Japan anyway, then as Asian Spirit suggests, simply getting on the plane solves the problem.

If you want to stay in Japan (and get all your money)...not knowing more about your situation, my first reaction would be to go down to the Roudou Kyoku (労働局, and possibly the Roudou Kijun Kyoku 労働基準局 and the Roudou Iinkai 労働委員会) on Monday with as much evidence as you can muster and ask for them to intervene. If you are not fluent in Japanese, I would bring somebody who is--preferably somebody Japanese. I recommend this course because 1) it is free, 2) they will give you honest feedback on whether you have a case, and 3) assuming you convince them to act, they will act very aggressively for you.

You/your Japanese companion should be emphasizing that you are a tax-paying resident with (if applicable) JAPANESE DEPENDENTS. Your goal will be to get one of these agencies to act aggressively on your behalf. Make sure you and/or the Japanese person with you also emphasizes the harassment issues and that you were doing more than satisfactory work in all areas under evaluation.

Whether you go to the Roudou Kyoku, Roudou Kijun Kyoku or the Roudou Iinkai, they will most likely tell you to go somewhere else as "they can't help you there at this stage." (I think they do this to ensure that you're really serious....) Follow their directions and go to the place they tell you. Then, tell the new place that you've been to the other place(s) and were then TOLD TO COME TO THE NEW PLACE.

Basically, the new place will listen to your story and if all goes well, will likely agree to file a "jougen" with the school. This will be the first step, to be followed by something called an "assen"--i.e., a request for arbitration/moderated negotiations. Eventually, it may end up in court as well, assuming you/the school wants to go that far. (Usually, schools cave immediately went contacted, as it's not worth the time and energy to fight over such small stakes.)

To the moderators: Please do not delete the Japanese characters in my post, as the OP might need to show them to his/her Japanese companion.


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## Asian Spirit

myrrh said:


> To the moderators: Please do not delete the Japanese characters in my post, as the OP might need to show them to his/her Japanese companion.


Looks as though the site software or something deleted them. Your post has not been moderated so guess it just will not show properly


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## myrrh

Asian Spirit said:


> Looks as though the site software or something deleted them. Your post has not been moderated so guess it just will not show properly


The characters seem to come out okay on my end, so I'm guessing it's just a matter of if you have Japanese language enabled or not. As the OP is in Japan, he should be able to see them fine either on his computer or Iphone.


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## JamesInJapan

Man it really su*ks to see messages like this.
It su*ks because it is the truth of the society.
I've been living here (Japan) for 10 years and everything you described is just considered a fact of life for Japanese people.

I think that's an important point for other people reading this.
The situation described in OP is not related to discrimination, it's just how business is conducted here.
How can you avoid it in the first place?
Work for a foreigner, work for an enormous company (but that is not a guarantee), start your own business.
If you get a job at a small company owned by a Japanese person who has not worked/lived abroad, you are almost guaranteed to be expected to work many hours of unpaid overtime for a low salary, for ever, and eventually you may get paid more, but the overtime never ends.

My advice is to try to work for a foreign-owned business in Japan, or accept that this is the culture here, it is what 99% of people do, or leave the country. =/


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## myrrh

While long work hours--to include overtime--can be found with many Japanese employers, workplace discrimination and incorrect salary amounts are not "how business is conducted here." One call from either the Roudou Kyoku, the Roudou Kijun Kyoku or the Roudou Iinkai would typically have resolved these latter issues. 

Of course, the OP has not returned to this thread, so we will never know what happened, or even if this was a legitimate request for help.

Finally, working for foreigner-run companies in Japan can be even worse. Before accepting employment anywhere in Japan, I would recommend searching online and/or asking around here for employer reputations.


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## larabell

I'd more-or-less agree but my direct experience is somewhat less onerous. I've worked for four different companies, three were wholly-owned subsidiaries of large multi-national companies and one was a fairly large Japanese trading company.

While I've certainly seen people in the office at all hours in all four places, for the most part, enforced overtime was rare if there wasn't some hot customer situation happening. At my current employer, the place is nearly empty by 7~8pm most days. I've known a few younger co-workers who even made it a point to get home in time to see their family. Things are changing, even on that front...

At all four, sexual harassment, discrimination, and wage games were non-existent. These days, larger companies are very sensitive to the trouble they can cause for themselves and are usually fairly careful with their official policies. My current company provides mandatory annual mini-seminars on various topics like sexual harassment and business ethics. Of course, that doesn't mean you won't run into specific co-workers with issues... and the female work force still leans toward "office assistant" type jobs... but the old stereotype of the typical Japanese office environment seems to be disappearing quickly.

My guess would be that smaller companies, standalone or very small chains, which are mostly run by one person or a small group of old-time owners, especially when run on a virtual shoestring, are more prone to aberrant behaviors. But I'd chalk that up more to management personality than current Japanese custom. And it's true that, at least these days, a bit of googling beforehand should give one a clue as to the nature of the work environment at any given company. I suspect what often happens is that someone wants to move to Japan so intently that they're willing to sign just about anything in order to get a job. That's unfortunate and I would encourage anyone in that position to contact the relevant authorities for help but, to the best of my recollection, most of the stories like this that I've heard over the years fall into the category of someone grabbing at whatever job can be gotten just to get their working visa and not doing much in the way of due diligence beforehand.

Also, I must admit that one possible source of bias in own my personal experience may be the fact that all the companies I've worked for here are tech companies. I think there's something about tech companies that tends to bypass outdated cultural norms. For example, all four (even the pure Japanese company) provided segregated rooms to accommodate smoking -- which in the mid-90s probably wasn't all that common (though, thankfully, it's becoming moreso these days).


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## JamesInJapan

@larabell, my direct experience has also not been as bad as described by the OP, but assuming your picture is you, there is a reason our experience was different, we are men.

You are also entirely correct in saying that large companies are much more careful about these sorts of things. Let's keep in mind though that the vast majority of people are not employed by such firms, Japan is the land of SMEs. In fact, I believe it is something like more than 99%.

Oh and yes, tech companies are in a world of their own.

@myrrh, I really don't think you are doing anyone any favors by saying:
workplace discrimination and incorrect salary amounts are not "how business is conducted here."

It most certainly and absolutely is. 
There is first educational discrimination, graduated from Tokyo University? Enjoy your unwarranted fast track promotions to that comfy upper-management position.
There is insanely huge sexual discrimination, why do you think the vast majority of foreigners in Japan are men? The women cut their losses and get out of Dodge ASAP. 
Incorrect salary? Try a quick search for サービス残業 (sa-bisu zangyou) which means service overtime, or as wikipedia more honestly translates it, wage theft. It's such common practice that it has its own slang terms.

I have been living in Japan now for 10 years. 
I won't pretend to understand all there is to the culture.
There are parts I love, and parts I hope will change (not only me, a majority of Japanese people also hope they will change). Including the treatment of women, the over-work culture, the lack of friendships.

Sugarcoating any country does it no favors. Understand the bad, appreciate the good. Resist and educate to stop the former, promote the latter.


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## myrrh

Thanks for the post. Um, where to start. First, "discrimination" due to education happens everywhere in the world. I sincerely doubt the OP was/is talking about how his/her university wasn't renown enough to get a good job, yes?

Second, funny that you should mention サービス残業 and the Japanese wiki page. If you look on that very page, you will find mention both that it is illegal and that going to the Roudou Kyoku, the Roudou Kijun Kyoku and the related Roudou Kijun Kantoku Sho (my advice above) very often solves the problem. Indeed, on the wiki page is a partial list of recent, successful interventions from these agencies--33 cases totaling over a billion dollars (*not* yen) in payouts to victims are listed. Looks like my advice was pretty spot on, yes?

Third, I have lived in Japan for almost 25 years, have worked in both small and large entities--all Japanese-owned--with almost ten years spent in management. Furthermore, I have been involved as an officer in a national labor union since the late 1990s. Do workplace discrimination and sexual harassment exist in Japan? Yes. Are they more prevalent here than, say, in the US? Debatable. Are they more actionable here than in the US? I'd argue yes, that unless you are in a protected class (e.g., veteran, disabled, minority, etc.), it is often much more difficult (and expensive) to litigate on labor issues in the US. I mean, the agencies I have listed in this thread will all go to bat for you for free...a pretty good deal, if you ask me.

The bottom line is that I do understand the bad and appreciate the good of this country, have provided sound advice, and have done no sugarcoating. Peace.


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## JamesInJapan

Well first, I don't disagree with your advice, it is excellent, and should be followed not only by foreigners in Japan but certainly by a lot of Japanese people.
Maybe if more people here did report their situation it might have an impact on the culture.

The part I disagree with is (and which I am labeling as sugarcoating):
workplace discrimination and incorrect salary amounts are not "how business is conducted here."

I am perplexed as to how a person who has been living here for 25 years hasn't come at least 2 conclusion:
- you are better off being a woman in any other developed country than in Japan
- you are going to do a lot more unpaid overtime in Japan than in any other developed country

As for the wage theft wiki page, like I said, I agree with the advice, I only wish more people would actually follow it.
The issue is that it is the cultural norm, people expect it even before starting a career, so virtually no one reports their company for "making" them work late.
I put "making" in quotes because it is not so much a direct pressure from a manager, but a social expectation that when not followed results in bad work relations or worse.

After 25 years in Japan you must have noticed that we, foreigners, tend to play by different rules. We aren't as often expected to stay late, or to apologize properly, or to be quiet when a Japanese person aught to, among other examples.

As for your comparison to the US, I'm not American, nor have I lived there.
But I can't believe that America, a country that champions the rights of women, and is home to so many powerful women, would have as much sexual discrimination embedded in the society as Japan. 

The funniest thing is I have never met a Japanese person who denies Japan's blatant unfairness towards women, or their excessive over-working culture.

Again, your advice is good, and those agencies will likely take care of the issue.


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## myrrh

JamesInJapan said:


> The part I disagree with is (and which I am labeling as sugarcoating):
> workplace discrimination and incorrect salary amounts are not "how business is conducted here."
> 
> I am perplexed as to how a person who has been living here for 25 years hasn't come at least 2 conclusion:
> - you are better off being a woman in any other developed country than in Japan


In twenty-five years, I've yet to meet one Western women who complained about workplace sexual harassment in Japan. More to the point, I know a lot of Western women in this country--all of them seem to be quite happy (more than the men) and doing just fine here. Most have great jobs, great families, and claim to have lots more freedom here (safer to walk home alone at night, etc., etc.) than back home. 

Does workplace sexual harassment exist? Again, yes...though the targets are almost invariably Japanese women or women from Southeast Asia. Is this right? No...but I can tell you from direct experience, the various agencies listed in this thread will help these individuals if they seek help.



JamesInJapan said:


> - you are going to do a lot more unpaid overtime in Japan than in any other developed country


I've never done unpaid overtime in Japan. Have you? No, right?

The foreigners targeted for unpaid overtime tend to be South American or Southeast Asians hired illegally (or after paying huge deposits back home for the "privilege" of working in Japan). The employers tend to be shady, and the work very labor-intensive (often akin to slave labor). Horrible, yes? Is this what the OP was referring to? Who knows? The OP never returned...so we'll never know.

Sadly, as larabell also notes, it's often the truly desperate--those willing to sign just about anything in order to get a job--that get caught in these situations. Somebody overseas living in extreme poverty and looking at Japan as a way out--the situation, say, of many of the Japanese-Brazilians I have directly worked with--is not going to have the time or opportunity to search online for, say, employer reputations. And just like in other "developed" countries, the unfortunate truth is that disreputable employers are waiting here too in Japan to take advantage of these people. 



JamesInJapan said:


> As for your comparison to the US, I'm not American, nor have I lived there.
> But I can't believe that America, a country that champions the rights of women, and is home to so many powerful women, *would have as much sexual discrimination embedded in the society* as Japan.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me_Too_movement

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_sexual_misconduct_allegations


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## JamesInJapan

I feel like you are playing the devil's advocate.

But to be clear, yes I do think that Japanese women have it way worse than western women in Japan. Japanese men would be way slower to do something that they feel may be taken as harassment towards a western woman than towards a Japanese woman. Having said that, there are a lot of behaviors that they don't even consider harassment, like passing up women for promotions, or assuming they will be the ones to serve the tea.

I haven't been here for 25 years, but in the 10 years I've been here I've yet to meet a western woman who has *not* complained about discrimination they receive here that would be unheard of in their home country (which so far have been Canada, England, Australia, and the US [Cali]). And more to the point, it was precisely the reason most of them went back home, they wanted to be taken seriously by coworkers, bosses, society in general, and not simply be seen as baby producers that aught to be pretty.

I think we both agree that the target is largely the native population, or those from other parts of 
Asia. But again, I repeat, it is the norm.

I have not done unpaid overtime in Japan because I stood my ground against it. A luxury Japanese people can't afford in a lifetime employment culture, lest they be the nail that gets struck down.

Again, we play by different rules in Japan, I think I already mentioned this. 
Western people in Japan are living in an entirely different society than the native population. 
We are, however, still subject to behaviors that Japanese people don't consider to be wrong, but that we may consider unacceptable, for instance always asking the woman to serve tea.

I think your Donald Trump and #MeToo examples are working against your point.
Those things made front page news when they came to light, because they are known to be morally unacceptable by a majority, and not just a little.

The reaction from Japanese women I have spoken to about many of the types of stories that appear in #MeToo tends to be along the lines of "Is that all he did? That kind of thing is just business as usual here... I wish it would stop but that's impossible."

Have you seen the recent BBC report named Japan's Secret Shame, about Shiori Ito?
News like that is surprising to western people because we feel like "Wow, is it that much worse in Japan?"

I don't mean to be too personal in this question so ignore it if it is too much, but do you often get back to the states? I mean if you have been here for 25 years, since the mid 90s, a lot has changed. But I still think that 90s north America was way ahead of modern day Japan, even 80s. Anything after the sexual revolution is ahead of modern day Japan.


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## myrrh

I don't want to get too much into politics, but the US now has a President who was elected despite (or perhaps because of) numerous sexual harassment/assault allegations. As for Me/Too, the whole point of the movement has been to protest the sexual discrimination embedded in Western society...and the harassment/assaults this discrimination continues to generate. I.e., things are not great back in the West either.

We are not going to agree on the subject of Western women in Japan. I will be hanging out with several (and their Japanese boyfriends/husbands) this weekend in Niigata. Not a single dissatisfied women in the group. Indeed, they would laugh at the characterizations here.

Still, you appear to hang out with a very different crowd, which is fine. Good luck to you.


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## larabell

It's interesting that you mention "serving tea" since that jogged my memory on a particular uncomfortable situation from around mid-1994. I was visiting the offices of a small (dozen people or so) trading company who happened to be an independent distributor for one of my employer's products and the person who brought tea while I waited was a female support engineer who, had we been working in the same company, would likely have been an equal peer of mine. I didn't have sufficient Japanese fluency to say anything at the time but it was pretty obvious she wasn't any less uncomfortable about the situation that I was. Especially since we had worked together on customer issues many times before.

In the same vein... I'm fairly active with the local community group (responsible for the neighborhood festivals and such) and it's pretty much an unwritten rule that the women who attend the meetings are there to serve the food and drinks and they always sit at a separate table from the men. I've tried sitting at the women's table a couple of times and it was made very clear that I was violating some sort of unspoken norm. I certainly wouldn't say that the women there were being treated badly, per-se... and I have yet to hear any of them complain even once. There are subtle shades of grey when it comes to outright discrimination versus cultural norms that Japanese of both genders take for granted, even though the same situation would likely make a Western woman's skin crawl.

I do feel that things are changing slowly. And, to be fair, the average age in that community group is 70 so we're likely talking about deeply ingrained cultural norms. But being asked to serve tea (or beer) isn't the same, from a Japanese cultural point-of-view, as outright sexual harassment and the former certainly shouldn't be allowed as an excuse for the latter. But we do have to remember that cultural norms here can be very different from what we're used to.

IMHO, of course...


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