Official sources
Where these notes come from — and where to check them yourself
Every structural note is written from Japanese primary materials. This page collects them in one place, so a claim in any note can be traced back to the text or the authority it rests on.
Two cautions before you use them. English translations of Japanese statutes are unofficial — where a translation and the Japanese text differ, the Japanese governs. And ministry circulars, guidelines and administrative standards are interpretation: they shape how an inspection office decides, but they are not law and a court is not bound by them.
The law itself
The governing text and its English rendering. Where these two differ, the Japanese is what applies.
The ministry and its agencies
Administer the schemes and publish the guidelines. Circulars and standards here are interpretation — persuasive in practice, but not statute.
Case law
Dismissal, renewal expectation and classification are decided as much by precedent as by statute.
English overviews and research
Useful orientation for a foreign employer, and the place to start before reading the statute.
How a note cites them
Each note lists its own primary sources at the foot of the page, above the takeaway. Article numbers in the body refer to the Japanese statute; the abbreviations used are expanded in each note’s footer line.