Working in a toxic environment can be incredibly challenging, especially in a foreign country. Employees often find themselves in workplaces where unethical practices, poor leadership or exploitative policies prevail, leading to stress and dissatisfaction. Such companies are referred to as burakku-gaisha (ブラック会社) or exploitative companies.
Despite these issues, it’s easy to feel trapped. Financial necessity, lack of opportunities, visa restrictions or even uncertainty about what defines a toxic workplace can make leaving difficult. However, by understanding your rights — like unemployment insurance, job-hunting best practices and creating a quitting checklist — you can empower yourself.
To illustrate some of the challenges workers face, we interviewed three people who experienced toxic work environments in Japan.
- Exploitative Working Hours: Jun’s Story
- Covering Up Industrial Accidents: Kuro’s Story
- Casual Violence and Harassment: Kameko’s Story
- What Should You Do if You’re in a Similar Situation
Exploitative Working Hours: Jun’s Story
“At my first job, on day one I was told, ‘We all work until 10 p.m., but don’t worry — there’s a bento every evening.’
I found this and many other practices baffling, like people sleeping at their desks until noon and then working until the middle of the night.
One time, they hinted that I needed to come in on the weekend to finish work. I showed up and then handed in my resignation on Monday.” —Jun
Overwork is a serious issue in Japan, with some workers even dying from exhaustion — a phenomenon called karoshi. To combat this, the government limits overtime to 45 hours per month.
If all Jun’s employer offered for long hours was a bento (a lunchbox), the company got off lightly. Japanese law mandates 25% extra pay for overtime, with higher rates kicking in for longer hours. Moreover, if Jun regularly worked past 10 p.m., he would qualify for a 50% bonus after exceeding 60 hours of overtime in a month.
Additionally, work between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. is considered “late night,” entitling employees to 50% extra pay, which rises to 75% beyond 60 overtime hours.
Covering Up Industrial Accidents: Kuro’s Story
“Safety? There was no safety! One of my coworkers cut his hand so badly he needed surgery. The company made him drive to the hospital alone and report the injury as a personal accident to protect their safety record.” — Kuro
Unfortunately, Kuro’s experience isn’t unusual. Some companies, particularly in industries with high safety risks, go to great lengths to avoid incidents being reported. This is because repeat offenders face heavy fines and even jail time.
Financial motives may also play a role. If an employee is injured on the job and takes more than four days off, they are entitled to 60% of their regular salary through Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance. Employers may push workers to cover up accidents to avoid insurance claims.
If you encounter a similar situation, you can bypass your supervisor by filing a claim directly with the Labor Standards Inspection Office.
“The company also tried to cheat us out of overtime pay by setting the punch-out clock five minutes fast. If we left on time, it looked like we weren’t working overtime.” — Kuro
Overtime must be calculated monthly and paid even if it’s less than a full hour. Additionally, time tracking systems must be objective, so faulty or manipulated time clocks are not allowed.
Casual Violence and Harassment: Kameko’s Story
“I worked for a well-known bridal brand, and the environment was terrible. Sixty- to 70-hour weeks were common, and after full shifts, we were required to do unpaid training.
We technically had Mondays off, but they often asked us to come in, so we didn’t really get any rest.” — Kameko
Japan’s labor laws are improving, but they still lag behind other countries. Employers are required to provide at least one day off per week or four days off in a four-week period. However, they aren’t obligated to give Sundays or holidays off, and Monday rest days are legally acceptable.
“The company was obsessed with appearances. They constantly commented on women’s weight, even if they gained just a little. The men weren’t spared either — I once saw a senior employee punch a junior staff member for poor performance. It was a serious punch, not just friendly banter, and it injured him.
At a work party, one of the bosses even told a female coworker to strip for him as a ‘joke.’ That was the last straw. I decided to leave the company immediately.
After I resigned, they came to my apartment, trying to convince me to stay. When that failed, they gave me the cold shoulder at work, ignoring me for the entire month before I officially left.” — Kameko
Violence, harassment and sexual harassment are illegal and should never be tolerated. The Human Rights Bureau offers helplines for men and women experiencing abuse.
As for Kameko’s situation, although giving a one-month notice is a common courtesy, it’s not legally required. In most cases, employees can leave without serving a full notice period despite social pressure to do otherwise.
What Should You Do if You’re in a Similar Situation
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10 Comments
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sakurasuki
Simple just change job, ask your prospective employer what work life balance do they have. Nobody force you to work in those company.
daikaka
You obviously have no idea how bad the current job market is for office workers. Unless you want to go take a front line service worker job or manufacturing job and take a 70% price cut, many office workers are trapped.
With hundreds to thousands of applicants to choose from for a single opening, asking WLB will probably fail you the interview.
GillislowTier
My favorite advice is “just change jobs” at its core, yes. But between Japan’s brutal bureaucracy for foreign residents to do anything with paperwork and the high barriers to entry for foreigners in the workplace it’s never just that simple.
Toshihiro
The part of being gaslighted and pressured to do uncompensated overtime really gets me. That's essentially wage theft and yet, most Japanese will just accept that without batting an eye
finally rich
the high barriers to entry for people who can't read/write/speak the language it’s never just that simple.
Fixed for ya✓
And yes, it is that simple.
Japan is one of the best countries in the world to change jobs/go full self-employed/freelance.
Simply speaking 2 or 3 languages fluently already gives you almost unlimited access to many companies as Japan is currently focusing on exporting/imbound more than ever.
But from my experience, working in a 100% japanese work environment is not good for your mental health if you happen to come from the West, so better stick to places with at least 2 or 3 foreigners.
BackpackingNepal
Not just in Japan, even in Western countries, there's toxic environment. The reason Japan has negative sides on this is because Japan is overall a very exiciting, interesting and popular country in the world. Anyway, here are some big issues at work.
Bully and Harassment
Unfair Schedule
Gaslighting
Politics/Bribery within team
Plotting or secretly scheming
Snitch, People Pleaser, Double Crosser
False Attribution, Willful IgnoranceAll these can be unfair dismissal and if any one is brave enough to be whistleblower, he must sacrifice his job and make a new life somewhere else.
daikaka
Having worked in Japanese and Western companies, western companies can be a lot worse in Japan.
80+ hour weeks are extremely. It is rare we get any weekend days off, and working to 2-4am in weekdays is common. Despite the late hours, we are expected to show up to work in early hours.
While this happens in Japanese companies as well, you have little sense of job security as there's constant talk of PIPs and you often see entire teams PIPed every few months.
Some dude
I have no idea why anyone with other options would want to work for a Japanese company. Long hours, bullying, exploitation, all come as standard.
Maybe as a 正社員, but as a freelancer it's pretty sweet. My hours are set, and I can do my work as I see fit as long as it gets done. My colleagues are all highly professional and pull their weight, any criticism is usually constructive and useful, and so on.
I'm not denying that for some people it's a living nightmare, but you can't generalise that to everyone.
Daniel Neagari
Funny thing... until 2020s I was working in an toxic work environment and suffer most of the treatment mentioned here.
The punch line is... it was an non-Japanese organization and my boses were non-Japanese, blonde, white, blue eye male. I do give you that the office was in Japan.