Japan Job Offer Letter and Work Rules (Shugyo Kisoku)
A Japan employment offer letter tells you the company wants you, but the enforceable detail lives in two further documents: the statutory labor-conditions notice and the workplace work rules.12 Accepting an offer without reading all three is how candidates discover the overtime policy, the transfer scope, or the disciplinary grounds only after they have already started.
Procedures, fees, and requirements can change. Confirm current details at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW).
Overview
This guide is for candidates with a written Japanese job offer in hand, evaluating it before signing.2 It covers new-graduate and mid-career hires alike, on any work-permitting status, because the underlying labor statutes make no distinction by nationality.1
The statutes below are national law. There is no ward, city, or prefectural variance in what the notice must contain or when work rules must be filed.1 Variance you will encounter is company to company, in what your specific employer's own work rules say, not jurisdictional.
The 内定通知書 (naitei tsūchisho, "informal offer letter"), the 労働条件通知書 (rōdō jōken tsūchisho, "written notice of labor conditions"), the 雇用契約書 (koyō keiyakusho, "employment contract"), and the 就業規則 (shūgyō kisoku, "work rules") are the four names to keep straight. The rest of this guide shows what each one does.
The Four Papers in an Offer Sequence
Before reading any single document in isolation, it helps to know how the four fit together. A job posting opens the sequence, an informal offer signals selection, and the binding terms arrive in the notice, the contract, and the work rules.23
Naitei and the informal offer
The 内定通知書 (naitei tsūchisho) is the formal naitei offer letter, used most heavily in the new-graduate cycle.2 For mid-career and lateral hires, many employers instead issue a 採用通知書 (saiyō tsūchisho, "notice of hiring"), a more general selection notice where the naitei framing is less natural.2
Once a candidate accepts a naitei offer, practitioner sources describe a real commitment that neither side can drop freely, but they characterize its precise legal form differently. SaiyouTeam states the stronger reading, that case law treats acceptance as a labor contract with a deferred start date.2 TailorCV states the weaker reading, that a naitei is not a completed formal contract, while noting that Japanese courts have in some cases found an unjustified rescission to breach an implied employment contract.4 Either way, the practical consequence is the same: withdrawal is confined to narrow grounds and acceptance ends the job hunt.
A naitei in the new-graduate cycle is conventionally given months before graduation and carries considerable social weight as the signal to end the job hunt.42 That social weight is real, but it is not where you verify wages or hours.
Where the binding terms live
Enforceable detail lives in the labor-conditions notice plus the signed contract plus the workplace work rules, not in the congratulations letter alone.231 A thin or friendly offer letter that leaves conditions unstated is not enough to verify terms against.
In practice employers very commonly merge the individually negotiated contract with the statutory notice, often into a single document titled 労働条件通知書兼雇用契約書 ("labor conditions notice cum employment contract").53 This merging is common market practice, not a legal requirement that the two share one title.
The Statutory Notice You Must Receive
Labor Standards Act Article 15(1) requires an employer, when concluding a labor contract, to make wages, working hours, and other working conditions explicit to the worker, in the manner an MHLW ordinance prescribes for ordinance-specified items.1
Article 15(2) gives you a direct remedy where a disclosed condition diverges from fact: you may immediately cancel the labor contract.1 Article 15(3) adds that where a worker who changed residence for work returns home within 14 days after such cancellation, the employer must bear the necessary travel expenses.1
What the notice must state
The Ordinance for Enforcement of the Labor Standards Act, Article 5, itemizes the conditions the employer must indicate.6 The written core, under Article 5(2) and 5(3), covers items (i) through (iv) except pay-raise matters, delivered as a document that clearly describes them.6
| Category | What it covers | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Always disclosed | Contract term; workplace and duties; start and end times, overtime availability, breaks, days off, leave, shift-change rules; wage determination, calculation, payment method, closing and payment dates; retirement including dismissal grounds | 6 |
| Conditional, only where the employer has such provisions | Retirement allowance scope and calculation; temporary wages, bonuses, minimum wage; worker cost-sharing; safety and health; training; accident compensation; commendation and discipline; leave of absence | 6 |
MHLW publishes model labor-conditions notices, including multilingual models, as the structural reference employers adapt to their own conditions.78 Where an employer explains conditions in a language you understand, that reflects administrative guidance and a compliance aid. The legally controlling version remains the Japanese original.8
MHLW worker guidance directs candidates to compare the posting with what is later explained at interview or offer stage.3 Treat a posting-to-offer mismatch as a real question to put in writing, not as a detail.
The 2024 additions and electronic delivery
Effective April 2024, the disclosure duty was revised to add items.7 MHLW's revision page confirms the existence and date of the change; two independent professional summaries itemize the same four additions, so the list below follows that corroborated synthesis rather than quoting the ordinance verbatim.
| Added item (since April 2024) | Who it covers |
|---|---|
| Scope of possible future change to workplace and duties | All workers |
| Renewal cap, if any, on fixed-term contracts | Fixed-term workers |
| Indefinite-term conversion opportunity | Fixed-term workers |
| Conditions applying after such a conversion | Fixed-term workers |
Since April 2019, an employer may disclose via fax, email, or SNS or electronic message where you request that method, provided you can output the record as a printed document.9 The employer may not unilaterally substitute electronic delivery against your wishes. The governing MHLW employer notice is an image-format PDF whose line-item wording is unconfirmed in text form, so rely on the stated rule above rather than a verbatim quotation.
A notice drafted on a pre-April 2024 template would not contain the now-mandatory scope-of-change line for workplace and duties.78 If you received an older-format template, you have grounds to ask in writing for the missing item before signing.
The Work Rules That Supplement Your Contract
Labor Standards Act Article 89 requires an employer who continuously employs 10 or more workers to draw up rules of employment and file them with the labor standards inspection office.1 The same duty applies when amending them.
The 10-or-more count is per workplace (事業場, jigyōjō, "workplace"), not per company.10 Each workplace meeting the threshold needs its own filing. Identical company-wide rules may be filed collectively through the office with jurisdiction over the main office.
Article 90 requires the employer to hear the opinion of the majority labor union at the workplace, or a representative of the majority of workers where no such union exists, before filing or amending.1 Article 106 requires the employer to make the rules known to workers, for example by posting them, distributing a copy, or keeping them on an accessible computer system.111
What work rules cover that your contract may not
Work rules must at a minimum contain three groups of items.1110 In practice this is where the overtime administration, leave administration, and disciplinary and dismissal-grounds detail frequently live, supplementing your individual contract on day-to-day matters.
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Mandatory | Working-hours matters (start and end times, breaks, days off, leave, shift-change rules); wage determination, calculation, payment method, closing and payment timing; retirement matters including dismissal grounds |
| Conditional, only where the employer has such provisions | Retirement allowance; temporary wages and minimum wage; cost-sharing; safety and health; training; accident compensation; commendation and discipline; leave of absence |
An English-only handbook that has not been filed in Japanese does not substitute for filed work rules in professional compliance synthesis. Japanese-language filing remains the controlling form.
How work rules bind alongside your contract
A labor-contract term that does not meet the work-rules standard is invalid as to that portion, and the invalid portion is governed by the work-rules standard, under Labor Contracts Act Article 12 as summarized in the MHLW model-rules commentary.10 This description follows the MHLW commentary rather than quoting Article 12 text directly.
Work rules must not infringe statutes or an applicable collective agreement. The labor standards inspection office director may order revision of conflicting rules.110 Where work rules exist and are reasonable in content, JETRO's employer-facing summary phrases their force as the same legal force as labor contracts.11 For a candidate, the consequence is plain: contract terms below the work-rules floor do not hold.
How you are supposed to see them
The statute frames dissemination as the employer's proactive duty, not literally an individual worker's codified right to compel a copy on demand.111 In practice, where the rules have not been made accessible, asking to see them is the expected step.
Workplaces with fewer than 10 workers are encouraged but not required to draw up work rules.11 A candidate joining a very small workplace may find no filed rules exist. That is a correct outcome of the threshold, not necessarily an omission.
What to Read Before You Sign
With the hierarchy in mind, work through your own papers in an order that catches gaps before you commit.
A reading order that works
Start with the labor-conditions notice for the statutory items, then the signed contract for individually negotiated terms and any merged notice-plus-contract document.16 Next read the work rules for day-to-day administration, then check the job posting as a baseline to catch mismatches.113 This sequencing is editorial procedure, not statute; the statutory basis is what each document must contain.
Confirm the parties named, the legal entity actually employing you rather than a brand name, your start date, and your workplace and duties, all match what you were told during hiring. Since the April 2024 revision, the notice must separately state the scope of possible future change to both workplace and duties, not only the conditions at hiring.78
Gaps that should stop a signature
A missing statutory notice by the start date, a missing scope-of-change line on a current-format notice, or an unresolvable mismatch between the posting and the notice each warrant pausing before signing until the employer corrects or explains in writing.167 The pause recommendation is editorial; the duties behind it are statutory.
Where disclosed conditions diverge from fact after signing, Article 15(2) preserves your right to cancel immediately.1 That remedy exists, but it is far cheaper to catch the gap before you sign than to invoke it after.
How to Ask for the Work Rules Before Accepting
Asking to see the work rules before accepting is a normal verification step, because the rules supplement the contract on the matters Article 89 lists.111 Name the document and the sections you need rather than making a vague request.
What a fair request sounds like
A concise fair request states the offer under consideration, names the document (就業規則, shūgyō kisoku), and asks for the filed version or the accessible copy.110 Where the employer has multiple sites, ask which workplace's rules apply, since the filing unit is the workplace rather than the company.10
The 労働基準監督署 (rōdō kijun kantokusho, "labor standards inspection office") is the filing authority behind the document you are asking about.111 Naming the filed version signals that you understand the request is about the registered workplace rules, not a marketing handbook.
If the employer refuses or deflects
Some employers nonetheless refuse or deflect such requests in practice. No government statistic quantifies how often this happens, so treat it as a practitioner-observed pitfall rather than a measured rate.
Refusal does not change the employer's Article 89 filing duty or Article 106 dissemination duty where those duties apply.1 Suspected non-disclosure or non-filing can be raised with the competent labor standards inspection office or prefectural labor bureau.7 MHLW's 2024 revision page names prefectural labor bureaus and labor standards inspection offices as the consultation channel for suspected violations.7
Good to know
A congratulations letter is not the full terms
Candidates frequently stop at the naitei letter because it feels like the decision point. Legally it is the start of verification, not the end. Wages, hours, and the other Article 15 items must still be confirmed in the notice, the contract, and the work rules before the terms are fully known.231
A pre-April 2024 template may be missing required lines
Notices drafted before April 2024 would not have included the now-mandatory scope-of-change item for workplace and duties.78 Check the template date first. If the form predates the revision, request the missing line in writing rather than assuming the employer will volunteer it.
The 10-or-more threshold counts per workplace, not per company
A worker at a small branch office of a large company may or may not be covered by registered work rules, depending on that specific workplace's headcount rather than the employer's total size.10 Confirm which workplace's rules govern your position when you ask.
A refusal to share work rules is a signal, not a dead end
An employer that deflects a work-rules request has not necessarily broken a personal right you hold to compel a copy, since the statute frames the duty as the employer's proactive dissemination.111 Treat the refusal as a transparency signal and check the filing question through the labor standards inspection office channel.7
See also
- Reading a Japanese Employment Contract
- Seishain, Keiyaku, Haken, and Arubaito: Japan's Employment Categories
- The New-Graduate (Shinsotsu) Hiring Cycle
- How the Japanese Labor Market Works
- Overtime, Working Hours, and the 36-Agreement
- Paid Leave (Yukyu-Kyuka) and How It's Taken