Ohara & Furukawa, Author at Ohara & Furukawa

December 18, 2017

How are Japanese Supreme Court Justices picked?

The Supreme Court of Japan is composed of one Chief Justice and fourteen Justices who are appointed by the Cabinet and approved by the Emperor. Each of these Justices must stand for election after appointment and once every 10 years following, however no Justice has ever lost a reappointment election. Supreme Court Justices must retire at the age of 70.

December 13, 2017

What should be included in a Letter of Guarantee for a Japanese visa?

A letter of guarantee required by some Japanese visa applications is a relatively simple one page document. It should contain the relevant information of the foreign national and the guarantor but it should also describe their relationship, whether this be friends, relatives or coworkers. In the letter, the guarantor should promise to provide logistical support for the foreign national as well as transportation fee for the trip back to his or her home country. Finally, the guarantor must also swear that the foreign national will abide by Japanese law while staying in Japan.

December 11, 2017

What is a Settlement Agreement?

A settlement agreement usually has two main parts. First, it should include a waiver of legal liability for disputes arising out of the same issue. This provides protection for the parties from a lawsuit over the same issue in the future. Second, it should contain some transfer of assets or rights in exchange for waiving the right to sue. This transfer will often be based upon what the wronged party might expect to win if the issue were litigated in court, but will usually be reduced by a fair amount to reflect the time and expense saved by not litigating […]

December 8, 2017

Does a company have to give notice before firing an employee in Japan?

In Japan, employers must usually give at least 30 days notice before terminating an employee’s employment contract. If the employer gives less than the required notice, he or she must make up for the lack of notice by paying a full day’s salary for each day the notice was insufficient.