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How Japanese black companies oppress workers (2014)

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178 points rawgabbit | 4 comments | 18 Nov 24 04:02 UTC | HN request time: 0.658s | source
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infotainment ◴[18 Nov 24 04:44 UTC] No.42169771[source]▶
> "I can't quit the job. If I say I'm going to quit, I'll be threatened that I will have to pay damages for quitting."

Interestingly, this is actually possible under Japanese law/legal precedent. If an employee, for example, decides to put in notice and then half-ass their job until their departure date, a company could actually sue the employee and win.

Other Japan-labor-law fun fact: if you are a contract worker, it is literally illegal for you to quit prior to your contract expiry date. Hope you like that job you signed onto!

Obligatory disclaimer: IANAL

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vr46 ◴[18 Nov 24 04:48 UTC] No.42169791[source]▶
All this has gone a long way to make me feel better about not keeping up my Japanese language skills after university. My youthful deep reverence for Japan and its culture shifted into realpolitik as I learned more and more, and I think another watch of Fear And Trembling is in order…
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1. ivanbalepin ◴[18 Nov 24 04:51 UTC] No.42169800[source]▶
i wouldn't go that far, it's still a very fun language and a rich culture.
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2. shiroiushi ◴[18 Nov 24 05:00 UTC] No.42169832[source]▶
It's also a lot nicer living here, in my experience, than in America in the last 8 years. Sure, there's some bad companies, but that's true everywhere.
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3. adastra22 ◴[18 Nov 24 05:09 UTC] No.42169870[source]▶
What has changed in America the last 8 years?
4. vr46 ◴[18 Nov 24 05:38 UTC] No.42169987[source]▶
Oh, I still love it, just not in a rose-tinted goggles way, like I did when I was 18. I did work a few stints at a Japanese company in London and saw the slight clash of corporate cultures up close.