PUBLISHED AUGUST 20267 MIN READLSA ARTS. 19 · 20 · 22 · LCA ARTS. 15–17
TWO CROSSING AXES · 交差する二つの分類SET UNDER DIFFERENT STATUTES — THEY DO NOT MAP ONE-TO-ONE
AXIS 1 ↓ / AXIS 2 →
VOLUNTARY 自己都合
EMPLOYER-INITIATED 会社都合
SPECIFIC-REASON 特定理由
Resignation辞職
TYPICALOne-month benefit restriction after the seven-day waiting period.
—
Resignation with legitimate cause.
Mutual agreement合意解約
TYPICALFollowing a recommendation to resign, where the worker accepts.
Where the separation is treated as forced.
—
Dismissal解雇
THE CROSSINGDismissal for serious cause attributable to the worker 重責解雇 — a dismissal on Axis 1, three-month restriction on Axis 2.
TYPICALDismissal other than for serious cause. No benefit restriction, generally longer duration.
—
Automatic termination自然退職
Expiry of a leave-of-absence period; mandatory retirement age.
—
TYPICALNon-renewal of a fixed term where renewal was sought but not agreed.
A single "terminated" flag is not sufficient for Japan. What ends the contract — a worker’s resignation, a mutual agreement, an employer’s dismissal, or automatic termination — fixes the legal basis and the procedure that must be followed. Separately, the employment-insurance reason code fixes the worker’s benefit position.
The two are set under different statutes and do not map one-to-one. The clearest break is a dismissal for serious cause attributable to the worker（重責解雇）: it remains an employer-initiated dismissal on Axis 1, but carries a three-month benefit restriction on Axis 2.
1
What ends the contract
AXIS 1 · 契約を終わらせる行為（法的性質）
01 RESIGNATION 辞職
Worker’s unilateral declaration. Without a fixed term, the contract ends two weeks after notice — the Rules of Employment cannot lengthen this against the worker. Civil Code Art. 627(1).
02 TERMINATION BY MUTUAL AGREEMENT 合意解約
A recommendation to resign（退職勧奨）is not a dismissal. It is a proposal, and the worker is free to refuse. An application may generally be withdrawn before acceptance; a unilateral resignation generally cannot.
03 DISMISSAL 解雇
Employer’s unilateral termination. Ordinary, redundancy and disciplinary — all sit under LCA Art. 16, and all carry the procedural layer.
04 AUTOMATIC TERMINATION 自然退職
No declaration by either party: death; expiry of a leave-of-absence period; expiry of a fixed term; mandatory retirement age. Not a dismissal — the dismissal procedures do not attach.
2
The benefit axis
AXIS 2 · 離職理由 — NOT A SUB-LEVEL OF AXIS 1
A seven-day waiting period applies regardless of the separation reason. The classification determines what happens after that.
Voluntary 自己都合Normally a one-month benefit restriction after the waiting period. Three months in specified repeat cases within the preceding five years, or where the separation is a dismissal for serious cause attributable to the worker（重責解雇）.
Employer-initiated 会社都合Bankruptcy, and dismissal other than for serious cause attributable to the worker, plus separations treated as forced. No benefit restriction, and generally longer benefit duration.
Specific-reason 特定理由離職者Non-renewal of a fixed term where the worker had sought renewal but no agreement was reached, or resignation with legitimate cause.
Where the axes cross: a disciplinary dismissal for serious cause attributable to the worker is a dismissal on Axis 1, but carries the benefit restriction like a voluntary resignation on Axis 2.
3
The dismissal-specific procedural layer
解雇にのみ付随する手続規制
LSA ART. 20
At least 30 days’ advance notice, or dismissal notice allowance for all or part of the shortfall. Immediate dismissal under the Art. 20 proviso requires prior determination by the competent Labour Standards Inspection Office.
LSA ART. 19
No dismissal while absent for medical treatment for a work-related injury or illness, and for 30 days thereafter; the same applies to pre- and post-natal leave.
LSA ART. 22
On request, a certificate stating the reason for dismissal must be issued.
PROHIBITED GROUNDS
LSA Arts. 3 and 104; Equal Employment Opportunity Act Art. 9; Child Care and Family Care Leave Act Art. 10; Labor Union Act Art. 7; Whistleblower Protection Act.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOUR POLICY
The notice allowance is not a purchase price.
LSA Art. 20 is a procedural rule about timing and money. LCA Art. 16 is a substantive rule about whether the dismissal stands at all. A dismissal with the full 30 days’ allowance paid is still invalid if it lacks objectively reasonable grounds. Termination needs two independent fields, not one enum — and the second must not be derived from the first.
WHO WRITES THESE
Wakana Chiba, Tokutei Sharoushi
Licensed Labor and Social Security Attorney in Japan
Wakana Chiba is a Tokutei Sharoushi — a nationally qualified and registered Labor and Social Security Attorney in Japan. She advises employers on Japanese employment law, workplace rules, working time, employment documentation, and labor and social insurance procedures, translating complex statutory requirements into policies and operations that work in practice.
Legal analysis and review of Japanese primary sources are performed by Wakana Chiba. English terminology is checked against the Japanese Law Translation Database and official MHLW materials. While AI may be used to draft initial texts, all published conclusions have been reviewed by the author.
TSUKURU-HR.COM / GLOBAL · COOKIE POLICYLSA = LABOR STANDARDS ACT 労働基準法 · LCA = LABOR CONTRACTS ACT 労働契約法 · STATUTORY POSITION AS OF AUGUST 2026 · GENERAL INFORMATION, NOT LEGAL ADVICE
