When YOU leave a Japanese Company

1)  Guidelines for Employment Management of Foreign Workers 

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's "Guidelines for Employers to Take Appropriate Measures to Improve Employment Management of Foreign Workers" (hereinafter referred to as the "Guidelines") sets out the necessary measures to be taken by employers and newly hired employees. 

The Guidelines provide the basic direction that administrative agencies and employees should follow in order to fulfill their responsibilities. Although, as they are only guidelines, they are not legally binding. 

However, as the Guidelines are issued pursuant to Article 8 of the Act on Comprehensively Advancing Labor Measures, Stabilizing the Employment of Workers, Enriching Workers' Vocational Lives and the Improvement of Workers' Working Life, failure to comply with the Guidelines may result in a violation of Article 7 of the Law and you might get in trouble as well as your employer.

This page explains what employees and employers should consider from the time of recruitment to the time of employment in accordance with the written guidelines, better be safe than sorry ! 

Foreign nationals, in these guidelines, refer to persons who are not Japanese citizens and include holders of many status of residence, such as Engineering, Humanities, International services, or Technical ones.

However, Permanent visa holders and those whose residence status is “Diplomatic” or “Government Official” ones are not included.

2) Prevention of dismissal

When your employer is letting you go, your daily life is going to be disrupted, as your residency status drops and your continuing living in Japan will be compromised.

Under the Labor Contract Law, employers cannot easily dismiss or terminate a foreign worker, unless there is an objectively reasonable reason and the dismissal or termination is socially acceptable. (Guidelines 4-6-1 and 4-6-2)　 

Dismissal or any other disadvantageous treatment due to medical treatment for illness, pregnancy or childbirth leave is also prohibited (Guidelines 4-6-4 and 4-6-5).

In line with Guideline 5, under Article 28, Paragraph 1 of the Act promoting Labor Measures and stabilizing employment while enhancing working conditions for foreign workers, it is mandatory for your employer to submit a "Notification of Employment Status of Foreign Nationals" upon your departure.

If you are enrolled in employment insurance, you can submit the “Notification of Loss of Employment Insurance Coverage” instead of the “Notification of Employment Status of Foreign Nationals.” 

However, if you are not covered by employment insurance, you must fill out and submit the “Notification of Employment Status of Foreign Nationals” to Hello Work. When you send it, every relevant detail should be covered. 

Name, residency status, length of stay, date of birth, gender, nationality and region, any employment information

If you are not a member of employment insurance, include the following information:

name, residency status, length of stay, date of birth, gender, nationality/region, and resident card number.

Items that are not listed above should not be requested in order to protect your privacy. 

〈Method of confirmation〉 

When confirming the aforementioned items, you will be required to present your residence card (or passport, or certificate of eligibility if you do not have a residence card).

〈Deadline for notification〉 

The deadline is 10 days after the day following separation from employment for those enrolled in employment insurance, and by the end of the month following separation from employment for those who are not enrolled. 

4) Social and insurance procedure compliance 

Employers are required to fulfill all necessary insurance-related procedures in compliance with labor and social insurance laws and regulations (section 4-4-1 of this guideline). The following lists an overview of the required procedures for enrolling foreign workers in "health insurance," "workers' accident compensation insurance," "labor insurance," and "pension insurance." 

〈Health insurance〉

Within five days from the day after retirement, your employer must submit a "Notification of Loss of Health Insurance and Employee Pension Insurance Coverage" to the pension office with jurisdiction over the location of the place of business.

The "Notification of Loss of Eligibility for Health Insurance Coverage" is necessary if you must transition to National Health Insurance. Therefore, it is imperative that a copy be provided to you.

If procedures are necessary to apply for National Health Insurance, kindly ask your employer for help.

If you are not covered by employment insurance, please provide your resident card number on the Notification of Employment Status of Foreign Nationals.

When you resign or a being let go, you must also receive a Certificate of Resignation. This certificate is issued according to Article 22 of the Labor Standards Law and is not an official document like a separation certificate or a release form. However, the immigration Bureau may require it to ensure that the work visa remains valid after the foreign employee changes jobs. It is only a document issued independently by the company and is mandatory only upon the resigning employee’s request. 

The document must include the following details:

(1) length of probationary period, (2) job type, (3) position within the organization, (4) salary, and (5) reason for leaving.

For further information on employees' compensation insurance and joblessness insurance, please refer to

Labour Insurance/Pension Insurance.

The same as with health insurance, it is necessary to submit a "Notification of Loss of Eligibility for Health Insurance and Employees' Pension Insurance" to the relevant pension office within five days following the date of resignation. This can be done via electronic application, mail, or by delivering the form in person.

Further details regarding pension insurance

can be found in the "About Pension Insurance" section.

5) Support for Re-employment

If you must leave your employment due to circumstances beyond your control, your employer is obliged to provide necessary assistance to the worker who wishes to be re-employed. This assistance may include mediation with related companies, education and training opportunities, mediation to take courses and provision of information on job offers, to help you find employment according to your status of residency (4-6-3 of this guideline). The revocation of status of residence scheme is not a novel necessity but there is a possibility that you might have to go back to your country of origin due to the revocation of status of residence. The Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act states that status of residence may be revoked if the foreign national has stayed in Japan for over three months without carrying out activities relating to their granted status (Article 22-4, Paragraph 1, Item 6). Meaning that after leaving your employment, you will only have 3 months to reapply and find a way to receive another residence status.

In cases where one's residence status is tied to a job title, such as "Engineer/Humanities/International Services'' for instance, the status will remain valid for 3 months post-resignation. However, if no new employment is secured within that time frame, the residence status may be revoked, forcibly necessitating departure from the country.Thus, in situations where an employment termination is inevitable, it is crucial to continue to offer support until a re-employment opportunity emerges, in order to circumvent complications.

However, if a foreign national has been without work for more than three months following termination of employment, revocation of their status of residence is not justifiable unless there are mitigating circumstances (Article 22-4, Paragraph 1, Item 6, enclosed in brackets). Specifically, if you have a history of re-employment efforts, your visa may not be canceled while you stay in the country, even if you have not obtained re-employment.

So, what steps should you take if you are still unable to secure a new job during your re-employment activities and the expiry date of your stay is drawing near?

In this scenario, it is not possible to renew your visa under the same residence status as before. However, if you desire to continue re-employment activities in Japan, you should apply for permission to change your residence status to "Designated Activities." If your "Designated Activities" status application is granted, you can remain in Japan for a maximum of six months, where you will also be able to support yourself and ask the Immigration Bureau for a 28-hour part-time job authorization if you have a contract ready with an employer.