--- title: Probation in Japan doesn't mean you can let someone go description: In Japan, not confirming a hire after probation is a dismissal and needs a solid reason. Notice applies after day 14, and fixed-term contracts don't help. image: https://nobusato.jp/hubfs/covers-2026-11/probation-dismissal-in-japan-cover-en-2026-10-m.png --- [Nobu Sato](https://nobusato.jp/en?hsLang=en) [Profile](https://nobusato.jp/en/profile?hsLang=en) [Method](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/method?hsLang=en) [Articles](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog?hsLang=en) [Glossary](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/glossary?hsLang=en) [Contact](https://nobusato.jp/en/contact?hsLang=en) [日本語](https://nobusato.jp/ja/blog/probation-dismissal-in-japan)[English](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/probation-dismissal-in-japan)[中文](https://nobusato.jp/zh/blog/probation-dismissal-in-japan) Organizations & Hiring In this article 1. [What probation means under Japanese law](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/probation-dismissal-in-japan#s1) 2. [The 14-day rule is about notice, not reasons](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/probation-dismissal-in-japan#s2) 3. [What Japanese courts have decided](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/probation-dismissal-in-japan#s3) 4. [Three traps foreign companies fall into](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/probation-dismissal-in-japan#s4) 5. [If you think you've hired wrong](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/probation-dismissal-in-japan#s5) 6. [The cheaper fix is hiring right](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/probation-dismissal-in-japan#s6) 1. [Home](https://nobusato.jp/en?hsLang=en) 2. [Articles](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog?hsLang=en) 3. [Organizations & Hiring](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/tag/organizations-hiring) # Probation in Japan doesn't mean you can let someone go Not confirming someone after probation is a dismissal, and the reason is tested from day one [Nobu Sato](https://nobusato.jp/en/profile?hsLang=en)6 min read Contents6 1. [What probation means under Japanese law](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/probation-dismissal-in-japan#s1) 2. [The 14-day rule is about notice, not reasons](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/probation-dismissal-in-japan#s2) 3. [What Japanese courts have decided](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/probation-dismissal-in-japan#s3) 4. [Three traps foreign companies fall into](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/probation-dismissal-in-japan#s4) 5. [If you think you've hired wrong](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/probation-dismissal-in-japan#s5) 6. [The cheaper fix is hiring right](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/probation-dismissal-in-japan#s6) In Japan, a probation period is not a free exit. Refusing to confirm someone at the end of probation is legally a dismissal, and it needs a reason that would stand up in court. A hire of mine once went wrong. Every reference had been glowing. Once he started, his execution fell well short of what we needed. ## What probation means under Japanese law The rule comes from the Supreme Court's 1973 Mitsubishi Jushi decision. Probation is an employment contract with a reserved right to terminate. The contract exists from day one. The company has only kept the right to end it. That right can be used only when the company learns something during probation that it couldn't have known at hiring, and ending the contract on that basis is objectively reasonable. Courts give employers more room than for a regular dismissal. Not as much more as most headquarters assume. Not confirming someone after probation is a dismissal, and the reason is tested from day one Three points in a Japanese probation period. Basis: Mitsubishi Jushi case (Supreme Court, 1973), Labor Standards Act Article 21 1. Day 1The contract is in forceThe company only keeps a reserved right to terminate. A valid reason is needed from the first day 2. Day 14Notice rules start to applyAfter this, 30 days' notice or 30 days' average pay. The 14 days only affect the notice procedure 3. EndNot confirming = dismissalIt needs an objectively reasonable cause that is socially acceptable. Employers who won had written role expectations, recorded guidance and a real chance to improve “If it doesn't work out, we end it” does not hold in Japan. Write down the role you expected and record guidance from the first month. Figure 1. In a Japanese probation period the contract is in force from day one, notice rules apply after day 14, and not confirming someone at the end is legally a dismissal that needs an objectively reasonable cause. ## The 14-day rule is about notice, not reasons Article 21 of the Labor Standards Act lets you dismiss a probationary employee in the first 14 days without the usual 30 days' notice. After day 14 you need 30 days' notice or 30 days' average pay, like anyone else. People often read it as "no notice needed during probation." The 14 days only affect the notice procedure. You need a valid reason from the first day. ## What Japanese courts have decided Employers do win these cases, including for mid-career hires. In the G-sha case (Tokyo District Court, February 2019), a securities salesperson hired as ready-to-go kept repeating the same mistakes after many rounds of guidance. Dismissal at the end of probation was upheld. In the Doronko-kai case (Tokyo District Court, January 2019), a department head hired at ¥10 million a year lacked the management ability he was hired for, and the refusal to confirm him was upheld. Employers also lose. In the Open Tide Japan case, a senior manager hired on generous terms was let go for poor performance, and the court did not accept that his ability was poor enough. Another company lost after dismissing someone for not greeting the chairman out loud. The employers who won had a few things in common. The role's expectations were written down at hiring. Guidance was recorded. The employee had a real chance to improve, and the problems kept coming back. The employers who lost were usually missing one of those. ## Three traps foreign companies fall into **Using a one-year contract instead of probation.** In the Kobe Koryo Gakuen case (1990), the Supreme Court said that if the purpose of a fixed term is to test suitability, it is treated as probation. Not renewing is judged like not confirming. Some experts think the bar is actually higher in a fixed-term setup. **Ending probation early.** Unless your work rules say employment can be ended during probation, you generally can't, short of something like a falsified resume. **Keeping no records.** Probation is partly a training period. A court will ask what training and guidance you gave and how many conversations you had. "It didn't feel right" won't hold. Probation also can't run forever. An unreasonably long period can be ruled invalid. Six months is generally treated as the practical ceiling. ## If you think you've hired wrong Write down the facts early, ideally in the first month: what you expected at hiring, what actually happened, where the gap is, each conversation and what changed after it. Then talk honestly. When both sides know it isn't working, a mutually agreed exit is usually better for everyone than a labor tribunal. Whether to offer a settlement, and how much, depends on the case, so talk to a lawyer first. Even at a tribunal, about seven in ten cases end in a settlement, as I wrote in [the labor tribunal numbers](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/japan-labor-tribunal-cases?hsLang=en). Two things not to do: walk someone out of the building on the day, or stop giving them work until they quit. The first is what IBM Japan did in the lockout dismissals the courts struck down. The second is easily seen as forcing a resignation. ## The cheaper fix is hiring right By the time you know a hire was wrong, most of the money is gone. As I worked out in [what one hire in Japan really costs](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/true-cost-of-hiring-in-japan?hsLang=en), year one through an agency runs about 1.5x salary. Two things help. Write what the role must deliver in the first 90 days into the job description, as events and numbers rather than adjectives. Clear expectations at hiring are exactly what helped the employers who won. And in reference checks, ask about specific things the person did. "Is he good?" gets you very little. What you can learn from references in Japan is limited, as I wrote in [reference checks in Japan](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/background-checks-in-japan?hsLang=en). Each case turns on its facts. The same performance gap can go either way with different facts or a different judge, and there are rulings on both sides for well-paid mid-career managers. This isn't legal advice. If you're facing it, talk to an employment lawyer. Have you had a probation in Japan that didn't work out? How did it end? References - [BUSINESS LAWYERS: points to note when refusing regular employment, Chuo Sogo Law Office (Japanese)](https://www.businesslawyers.jp/practices/350) - [Zennichi: is dismissal during probation easy? Ohno Labor and Social Security Attorneys (Japanese)](https://www.zennichi.or.jp/law_faq/%E8%A9%A6%E7%94%A8%E6%9C%9F%E9%96%93%E4%B8%AD%E3%81%AE%E8%A7%A3%E9%9B%87%E3%83%BB%E6%9C%AC%E6%8E%A1%E7%94%A8%E6%8B%92%E5%90%A6%E3%81%AF%E5%AE%B9%E6%98%93%E3%81%AB%E3%81%A7%E3%81%8D%E3%82%8B%E3%81%AE/) - [Keiyaku Watch: refusing regular employment, Katsuura Sogo Law Office (Japanese)](https://keiyaku-watch.jp/chokoben/media/honsaiyo_kyohishitai) - [MHLW: court cases on probation, Kobe Koryo Gakuen (Japanese)](https://www.check-roudou.mhlw.go.jp/hanrei/shogu/shiyou.html) - [Okinawa Labour Bureau: dismissal during probation, Labor Standards Act Article 21 (Japanese)](https://jsite.mhlw.go.jp/okinawa-roudoukyoku/yokuaru_goshitsumon/jigyounushi/careers_question_3.html) - [Rodo Shimbun case law: G-sha, Tokyo District Court, February 25, 2019 (Japanese)](https://www.rodo.co.jp/precedent/89571/) - [Rodo Shimbun case law: Doronko-kai, Tokyo District Court, January 11, 2019 (Japanese)](https://www.rodo.co.jp/precedent/82928/) As of October 2026. Not legal advice. Related: [How to investigate a harassment complaint in a Japan entity](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/how-to-investigate-a-harassment-complaint-in-japan?hsLang=en) For what a dismissal dispute actually costs once it reaches a tribunal or court, see [What it costs to let someone go in Japan](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/cost-of-letting-someone-go-in-japan?hsLang=en). Author [Nobu Sato](https://nobusato.jp/en/profile?hsLang=en) Launching in Japan, starting with people and systems. I write about building organizations, sales teams and technology organizations in Japan, in English, Japanese and Chinese. [Profile](https://nobusato.jp/en/profile?hsLang=en)[Contact](https://nobusato.jp/en/contact?hsLang=en) ## Read next 1. 01[“It was all me”: finding what a candidate really did](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/it-was-all-me-interview?hsLang=en)7 min A candidate says they did it all? Probe five things: personal actions, decisions, numbers, failure and others' roles. ... 2. 02[AI Can Tidy Your Interview Notes. It Can't Make the Call](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/ai-interview-notes-limits?hsLang=en)7 min AI can transcribe interviews, sort answers and flag missing evidence. Deciding what a candidate actually did stays ... [Column guide: Organizations & Hiring](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/guide-organizations-and-hiring?hsLang=en) · [Glossary](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/glossary?hsLang=en) · [The method behind the articles](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog/method?hsLang=en) [← All articles](https://nobusato.jp/en/blog?hsLang=en) ## Writing about launching in Japan, in three languages. [Profile](https://nobusato.jp/en/profile?hsLang=en) [Get in touch](https://nobusato.jp/en/contact?hsLang=en) Nobu Sato Writing about launching in Japan, in three languages. 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