JILPT Research Report No.237
Analysis of Dismissal type employment termination Cases Resolved by Labor Bureau Conciliation

December 25, 2025

Summary

Research Objective

Discussions on a financial compensation system for dismissal type employment termination began in April 2022 at the Working Conditions Committee of the Labor Policy Council, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) and have continued to the present. In order to contribute to the discussions of this Committee, a survey was conducted on conciliation (assen) cases handled by the Prefectural Labor Bureaus in response to a request from MHLW.

Research Method

This survey analyzes 485 conciliation cases classified as dismissal type employment termination cases that were fully processed by four Labor Bureaus during FY2023. With respect to the operation of the conciliation system, the analysis covers the applicant profile, category of conciliation outcome, duration of system use, time required for resolution, and whether lawyers or certified social insurance and labor consultants were involved. Regarding worker attributes, gender, age, employment status, wage system, lengths of service, monthly wage earnings, wage amounts by wage system, occupation, and managerial position were examined. Firm attributes include industry, firm size (number of employees), and the presence of a labor union. As for case content, the aggregate analysis considers the form of employment termination and the grounds for termination. Claim－related analysis includes the statement of claim and the amount claimed. Resolution－related analysis includes the resolution content, the resolution amount, the resolution amount divided by the monthly wage earnings, the resolution amount per length of service, and the resolution amount divided by monthly wage earnings and length of service.

In addition, cross－tabulations are further conducted between these characteristics and the resolution amount, and between these characteristics and the resolution amount divided by monthly wage earnings, among other combinations, so as to provide a comprehensive analysis of characteristics and outcomes of dismissal type employment termination cases processed through Labor Bureau conciliation.

Key Findings

1. Conciliation System Operations

1. Conciliation Outcome Classification

   Out of a total 485 cases, 180 cases (37.1%) resulted in a resolution, while in 207 cases (42.7%) the respondent did not participate.

2. Duration of System Use

   Regarding the period from the date the conciliation application was filed to the date the conciliation was concluded, among the 180 cases that resulted in a resolution, the most common duration was 2 to less than three months, accounting for 85 cases (47.2%), followed by one to less than 2 months with 75 cases (41.7%).

3. Time Required for Resolution

   Concerning the period from the date of termination of employment to the date conciliation was concluded, among the 180 cases that resulted in a resolution, the most common duration was 3 to less than 6 months, accounting for 74 cases (41.1%), followed by 2 to less than 3 months with 44 cases (24.4%).

2. Worker Attributes

1. Gender

   Cases involving male workers totaled 212 (45.4%), while those involving female workers totaled 255 (54.6%). This represents a reversal of the pattern observed in the FY2008 and FY2012 surveys, in which cases involving male workers were predominated.

2. Age

   Among cases for which age information was available, workers in their 60s accounted for 35 cases (27.8%), followed by those in their 50s with 29 cases (23.0%), indicating a relatively high proportion of middle－aged and older workers.

3. Employment Status

   Directly employed non－regular workers accounted for 254 cases (52.4%), constituting a majority, while regular workers accounted for 159 cases (32.8%) and dispatched workers accounted for 65 cases (13.4%). This similarly represents a reversal of the pattern observed in the FY2008 and FY2012 surveys, in which regular workers constituted a majority of cases.

4. Wage System

   Monthly wage was the most common, with 218 cases (53.8%), followed by hourly wages with 157 cases (38.8%). Daily wages and annual salary arrangements were relatively rare, accounting for only 18 cases (4.4%) and 8 cases (2.0%), respectively.

5. Length of Service
   

   The most common length of service was from one month to less than six months, accounting for 152 cases (31.4%), nearly one－third of the total. This was followed by less than one month with 75 cases (15.5%) and six months to less than 1 year with 69 cases (14.3%). In total, workers with relatively short tenures with less than one year of service accounted for over 60% of cases. The median length of service was reduced to nearly half of that observed in FY2012.

6. Monthly Wage Earnings

   The most common range of monthly wage earnings was from ¥200,000 to less than ¥300,000, accounting for 171 cases (42.2%), followed by ¥100,000 to less than ¥200,000 with 77 cases (19.0%). This represents an increase compared with FY2012, when the ¥100,000 to less than ¥200,000 range was the most common. The median value of monthly wage earnings was ¥230,000.

7. Occupation

   Clerical workers accounted for the largest share, with 115 cases (25.4%), followed by professional and technical workers with 80 cases (17.7%), service workers with 79 cases (17.4%), and sales workers with 61 cases (13.5%). Blue－collar workers accounted for less than 20% of cases.

3. Firm Attributes

1. Industry

   The largest number of cases were in the medical, health care and welfare industry, with 74 cases (16.4%), followed by wholesale and retail trade with 57 cases (12.7%). Manufacturing accounted for only 40 cases (8.9%).

2. Firm Size (Number of Employees)

   Firms with 10 to fewer than 50 employees accounted for 98 cases (22.1%), followed by firms with 100 to fewer than 300 employees at 86 cases (19.4%), and those with fewer than 10 employees at 81 cases (18.2%). The median firm size was 70 employees.

3. Presence of a Labor Union

   Fifty－nine firms (13.1%) had a labor union, while 390 firms (86.9%) did not.

4. Case Content

1. Form of Employment Termination

   In terms of the formal legal classification of employment termination, ordinary dismissal accounted for a majority with 249 cases (51.3%), followed by non－renewal of fixed－term contracts with 163 cases (33.6%), or approximately one－third. Dismissals for economic reasons were relatively few in 25 cases (5.2%), as were disciplinary dismissals in 20 cases (4.1%).

2. Grounds for Employment Termination

   With regard to the reasons cited by employers for terminating employment, worker conduct accounted for a majority of cases at 263 (54.2%), followed by worker ability or personal attributes at 122 cases (25.2%). Business－related reasons accounted for only 66 cases (13.6%).

5. Statement of Claim and Amount Claimed

1. Statement of Claim

   Cases seeking financial compensation only were the most common, accounting for 401 cases (83.0%). This was followed by cases seeking either financial compensation or reinstatement, with 58 cases (12.0%). By contrast, cases seeking reinstatement only numbered 12 cases (2.5%), and those seeking both financial compensation and reinstatement numbered 11 cases (2.3%), indicating that such claims were relatively few.

2. Amount Claimed

   Claims for amounts of 500,000 to less than 1,000,000 yen accounted for 124 cases (27.3%), followed by claims of less than 500,000 yen with 109 cases (24.0%), and claims of 1,000,000 to less than 2,000,000 yen with 98 cases (21.5%). The median claimed amount was 903,000 yen.

6. Resolution Content and Resolution Amount

1. Resolution Content

   Among the 180 cases in which an agreement was reached, reinstatement occurred in only 2 cases (1.1%), while in the vast majority—178 cases (98.9%)—the cases were resolved without reinstatement.

2. Resolution Amount

   Resolution amounts of 100,000 to less than 200,000 yen accounted for 40 cases (22.3%), followed by 200,000 to less than 300,000 yen with 32 cases (17.9%). Resolution amounts of 300,000 to less than 400,000 yen and 500,000 to less than 1,000,000 yen each accounted for 24 cases (13.4%). The median value of resolution amount was 235,000 yen.

Table 1. Resolution Amount through Labor Bureau conciliation

	Cases	%
Less than 50,000 yen	14	7.8
50,000 to less than 100,000 yen	16	8.9
100,000 to less than 200,000 yen	40	22.3
200,000 to less than 300,000 yen	32	17.9
300,000 to less than 400,000 yen	24	13.4
400,000 to less than 500,000 yen	11	6.1
500,000 to less than 1,000,000 yen	24	13.4
1,000,000 yen to less than 2,000,000 yen	10	5.6
2,000,000 yen to less than 3,000,000 yen	4	2.2
3,000,000 yen to less than 5,000,000 yen	2	1.1
5,000,000 yen to less than 10,000,000 yen	2	1.1
10,000,000 yen to less than 20,000,000 yen	－	－
20,000,000 yen to less than 30,000,000 yen	－	－
30,000,000 yen to less than 50,000,000 yen	－	－
50,000,000 yen or more	－	－
Total	179	100.0
Median (10,000 yen)	23.5
1st quartile (10,000 yen)	10.0
3rd quartile (10,000 yen)	45.7

(3) Resolution amount divided by monthly wage earnings
When resolution amount divided by monthly wage earnings—calculated by dividing the resolution amount by the worker’s monthly wage—are examined, cases involving less than one month of wages accounted for 66 cases (38.8%), and those involving one to less than 2 months of wages accounted for 54 cases (31.8%). Together, these 2 categories accounted for more than 70 percent of all cases. The median was 1.03 months of wages.

Table 2. Resolution amount divided by monthly wage earnings in Labor Bureau conciliation

	Cases	%
Less than 1 month	66	38.8
1 to less than 2 months	54	31.8
2 to less than 3 months	22	12.9
3 to less than 4 months	8	4.7
4 to less 5 months	5	2.9
5 to less 6 months	3	1.8
6 to less 9 months	9	5.3
9 to less 12 months	－	－
12 to less than 18 months	2	1.2
18 to less than 24 months	－	－
24 to less than 36 months	－	－
36 months or more	1	0.6
Total	170	100.0
Median (months)	1.03
1st quartile (months)	0.57
3rd quartile (months)	2.14

Policy Implications

It will serve as material for discussions at the Working Conditions Committee of the Labour Policy Council of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

Contents

JILPT Research Report No.237, full text (PDF: 1.3MB) [in Japanese]

Category

Labor laws/working rules

Research Period

April, 2024–March, 2025

Author

HAMAGUCHI Keiichiro

Research Director General, JILPT

For Citation

JILPT. 2025. Rodo kyoku assen ni okeru kaiko gata koyo syuryo jian no bunseki [Analysis of Dismissal type employment termination Cases Resolved by Labor Bureau]. JILPT Research Report No. 237. The Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training.

Related Research

• JILPT Research Report No.123, Content Analysis of Individual Labor Dispute Resolution Cases: Termination, Bullying/Harassment, Reduction in Working Conditions, and Tripartite Labor Relationships (2010) (PDF:63KB)
• JILPT Research Report No.174, Comparative Analysis of Employment Dispute Cases Resolved Labor Bureau Conciliation, Labour Tribunals and Court Settlement (2015)
• JILPT Research Report No.226, Comparative Analysis of Employment Termination Cases Resolved by Labor Tribunals or Court Settlements (2023)
• JILPT Research Material Series No.244, Survey on Reinstatement Outcomes Following Dismissal Case Judgments (2024)
• JILPT Research Material Series No.260, Survey on Workers' Attitudes regarding Dismissal, etc. (2025)
• JILPT Research Report No.238, Expert Interviews Survey on Financial Compensation System for Dismissal in Selected Foreign Countries (2026)

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