02-07-2025
Myanmar woman sues Tokyo-based ramen shop operator over unpaid wages
TOKYO -- A woman from Myanmar who had worked for a ramen restaurant in Japan has sued its Tokyo-based operating company demanding some 1.7 million yen (about $12,000) in unpaid wages and other compensation after the operator allegedly deducted expenses related to company housing from her pay, resulting in zero yen in her first paycheck.
According to the complaint and other sources, the 28-year-old woman came to Japan in late January 2025 after she was accepted as a specified skilled employee to work at a Tokyo shop of the Mitsuyado Seimen ramen franchise. Under the contract, she was to live in company housing, with about 250,000 yen ($1,740) as her monthly basic salary and fixed overtime pay combined, from which insurance and housing costs would be deducted, leaving her with take home pay of approximately 180,000 yen ($1,250).
After about a month, the company demanded she resign and pay back initial housing costs that the company had covered. When she refused, the firm unilaterally deducted the expenses from her March salary (her first paycheck), leaving her with income of zero yen.
Subsequent deductions continued, with her April pay reduced to about 40,000 yen ($280) and May's to about 120,000 yen ($840). Despite her requests for improvements, the company's stance remained unchanged, leading to her resignation on June 15.
With the assistance of lawyers supporting foreign nationals, she filed the lawsuit with the Tokyo District Court on June 16. The operating company apparently has told her lawyers that the resignation demand was due to her "lack of understanding of the training content." Her legal team argues that wage deductions without the worker's consent violate the Labor Standards Act.
The government-sponsored Specified Skilled Worker program was established in 2019 to accept foreign workers in industries facing severe labor shortages. While the food service industry is included in the program and allows job changes within the restaurant sector if certain conditions are met, side jobs are prohibited. From March to May, when her wages were deducted, the woman apparently relied on aid from support groups and friends.
Attorney Satoko Tomita criticized the company, stating, "This is an inhumane practice exploiting the vulnerable position of specified skilled foreign workers who cannot easily change employers."
There are 22 Mitsuyado Seimen restaurants in Japan and abroad. The Mainichi Shimbun asked the operating company for a comment but did not receive a response by the deadline.
