[Excerpt translation provided by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre]

"Lawyers representing the plaintiff issue statement opposing unjust ruling in Japan Business Lab lawsuit", 27 December 2019

On November 28, 2019, the Tokyo High Court...came down with an unjust ruling that rejected almost all of the claims made by a woman who was dismissed after she switched from a regular employee to an irregular employee after her maternity leave. She had asked her employer to switch back to a regular employee contract after her return from maternity leave but was denied.

In its ruling, the court did not legally recognize that the plaintiff was a regular employee. It also reversed the Tokyo District Court’s decision...that her termination was invalid, pointing out that she had destroyed a relationship of trust with her employer by taking audio recordings at the office. The High Court further rejected almost all of the lower court’s decision which granted the plaintiff’s claim for damages. In addition, the High Court ruled that she had damaged her former employer’s reputation by holding a press conference at the time of filing the lawsuit. The court ordered her to pay 550,000 yen in compensation for damages...

There is no other reason for the employer’s decision to switch the plaintiff to a contract employee, refusal to allow her to return as regular employee, and dismissal but the fact that “the plaintiff is caring for a young child”. The court’s decision is like a “fossil”, contradicting the Child Care and Family Care Leave Act...

The plaintiff made audio recordings at her office to secure evidence and to protect herself. If such action is considered a legitimate reason for dismissing or terminating an employee, this would make it difficult for workers to exercise their rights...

The court’s ruling infringes on the right of workers to provide information to the media and the right of the media that report on lawsuits about labor misconduct as social issues. The decision also infringes on the freedom of the press and citizens’ right to information...