Michael Collison Case: “Fired from Interac after death of infant daughter”
Posted by debito on April 16th, 2009
Hi Blog. Turning the keyboard over to Michael Collison, who tells his tale of an employer, Interac, who apparently would not give him a break even when there was a death in the family. Arudou Debito in Sapporo
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April 13, 2009
Dear Debito,
I have worked for Interac for 3 years 2006 04 to 2009 03. Some bumps along the way but usually not my fault. Anyway, my wife became pregnant with our second child in October 2008, great ! I also got a Letter of Recommendation from Interac praising my teaching work and thanking me December 2008 (attached).
About 3 months later on February the 11th 2009, during the night, my wife had some water leak, which isn’t uncommon. There are lots of fluid leaks during pregnancy. She called the hospital and was told to come for her prebooked appointment as scheduled on February 17th 2009. When she went I kept my phone with me during the lesson at Nakahara Junior High School in Hiratsuka, my main school, hoping everything would be fine. I was interviewing first year kids 1 to 1, there were only 3 kids left to interview and it was 15 minutes before the end of my last lesson of the day (each interview took 2 1/2 mins).
The phone rang !!
I’ve never had a phone call during a lesson before, but for my wife and unborn child I’m going to take the call. I did and my wife was heartbroken and in tears. She told me we had lost the baby.
I told her I was in a lesson and that I would come to her. I hung up the phone, apologised to the student telling him it was very important, and then finished his interview. After that I went to the classroom that the Japanese teacher was in and quickly explained that I had to go to the hospital because of my wife and unborn child. I went to the teachers room and explained everything I knew to a very nice third grade English teacher who translated it all into Japanese for the vice principal. They understood my reason for leaving.
So I ran to catch a bus, then a train, then ran to the hospital.
Once there I found out that the baby was still alive but had no water surrounding it. That’s when the hardest 3 weeks of my life started, (and I’ve had some hard times believe me) the baby survived that long.
The doctors wanted us to abort ASAP, that very day.
So that afternoon and night I was fighting a mental battle against doctors and nurses who were all saying that we should abort ASAP because the baby was doomed.
I went home as late as I could and started researching ‘PPROM’ (Premature Prenatal Rupture of Membranes) which is what this problem is called. I found many many cases in which the infant survived, and techniques to try.
Due to the stress of all this I went to work the next day, as my wife wished, and got the days mixed up, thinking it was Wednesday when it was Thursday, thus turning up an hour later than I should have. I missed 1 lesson but did the lesson in my free time. I also interviewed the 3 students I had missed, when I rushed off to the hospital, again in my free time.
That morning February 18th 2009 at aprox 8:30am, I recieved a call from Interac, a Japanese male from the Yokohama branch, speaking in English, asking why I had left school early the day before. I explained that there had been a medical emergency and that my wife was in the hospital and that we could be losing the baby. He told me that if I have any more medical emergencies to call Interac 1 week before the emergency to let them know in advance. He also said he would take a 1/2 day’s paid holiday because I left early.
Later at aprox 9:30am I recieved another call from Interac, a Japanese female from the Yokohama branch, again speaking in English, asking why I was late for work, again I explained the situation to a 2nd person. Interac took another 1/2 day’s paid holiday for being 1 hour late.
I expected someone I knew, the Hiratsuka trainer Joel Northan from Interac to call me and say ’sorry to hear about your situation, please take some time off’, or at least ’sorry to hear about your situation’. As he would call me often, sometimes just to chat and see how things were going at the schools, but especially if anything unusual had happened. No one ever called back.
The next 3 weeks were traumatic but I still went to work cheerful, had great lessons, and then spent the rest of my time researching medical procedures, at my wife’s bedside and taking care of our 1 year old son.
On Monday the 2nd of March I had to go to Interac Yokohama ( 神奈川県横浜市中区長者町５丁目８５明治安田生命ラジオ日本ビル / 10F, Radio Nihon Building, 5-85, Chojamachi, Naka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa) at around 4:30 pm for a meeting with Joel Northan (Trainer) and Satoko Aoki (Managing Consultant). It seemed to be for contract renewal.
They told me they would not give me another contract for 2009-10.
I asked them why.
Joel Northan said “Well, you left school early one day last week, and then you were late the day after”.
He then put 4 pieces of paper in front of me and I was told to sign them.
I asked if they understood why I left the school early and was late on the day after, and also if that was the only reason for not giving me a contract.
Joel Northan told me that they had a long list of problems with my work.
I asked him “Like what?” and “Did a school or the BOE complain about something?”
I was told it the schools or BOE had not complained. Then he told me that the Manager (presumably Akihiko Omata) had looked at the phone records and seen that I had made a lot of phone calls to the office, so he decided that it was evidence of lots of problems.
(Many times I had been told by Joel Northan and William Smith another trainer) to call the office much more, and to call over the smallest things to keep them up-to-date with details. I still didn’t like to call over trivial things like a school changing the time of 1 lesson, or schools not filling sheets out correctly).
Satoko Aoki told me that the Manager didn’t have confidence in me anymore and that I have to sign the papers so that they could pay me.
I told them that, as my wife was in the hospital at that very moment, I didn’t want to waste anymore time in the meeting and that I would read the papers at home, sign them and send them back.
Satoko Aoki was quite rude at this point and insisted that I sign them now. She told me that I couldn’t leave the room until I had signed them.
I was feeling quite sickened by their behaviour at this point so I picked up the papers, glanced at them and then put them into my folder and then into my bag.
I told them again that I would sign them at home and send them back.
Satoko Aoki was now rather angry, her face was red, slightly contorted and she was showing signs of shaking.
Satoko Aoki again and again said that I was not allowed to leave the room until I had signed.
After listening to this a few times and realising there was nothing more to discuss I stood up and told them I was leaving with the papers. I bidded them good-day and left. (Note see *** below)
I went straight to the hospital and that night my wife and I informed the doctor that we had decided to stop using the medicine which was preventing the onset of labour. The doctor told us that labour should begin around 48 hours later
I went to work as usual on Tuesday the 3rd.
On the evening of March 3rd, at around 6:30pm, I called Interac and asked to speak to a native English speaker (so as not to be misunderstood). I spoke to William Smith. I told him that I probably couldn’t go to work on the 5th as the baby was expected to die and be delivered that day, and that I would have to identify the body, as required by Japanese law. He told me that it was the first time he had heard about my situation and he sounded genuinely concerned. He told me to take the rest of the week off at least. I was thankful but told him I would go to work tomorrow and take Thursday off (expected birth date).
However at 11pm on the same night of the 3rd, my wife called and told me that labour was starting. So I, took my son to his grandparents and then went to the hospital. The baby died in the early hours of the morning. I called Interac as soon as the office opened to tell them that I couldn’t go to work, and to explain the situation. The baby was delivered at 10:48am, Wednesday the 4th of March.
We got to hold her. A little girl.
We had to arrange the funeral for as soon as possible. We could not book for Saturday and so booked for Friday.
I called Interac again and asked for a native speaker, again to avoid possible misunderstandings. I spoke to Joel Northan and told him I couldn’t go to work on Friday because I was going to the funeral. He told me it was fine and also said to apologise to my wife on his behalf as he didn’t know that she had been in the hospital when he informed me about my contract on March the 2nd.
***
After the funeral I had a chance to look at the papers that Joel Northan and Satoko Aoki tried desperately to get me to sign at that meeting on March the 2nd. Upon checking the 4 papers I found 1 was not for me, it was for Interac staff to fill in, 1 was requesting when I would like my final payment, 1 was requesting the same plus when I would like my penultimate payment.
However 1 paper (attached) stated:
‘THIS NOTICE is hereby made by ___________ (Employee#_____) on this _____ day of _____ , _____, to inform Interac of my resignation for the following reason:’ etc etc
Signature _________________ Date ______________’
So, on top of all the previous, they also tried to get me to sign a paper stating I was resigning without me even knowing it.
Extra notes -
2 months previously I was told that Interac were hoping I would continue my employment with them by Joel Northan.
I found out that Interac had lost the contract with the BOE in Hiratsuka for elementary schools for the 2009-10 year. The trainer involved has left Interac.
No-one ever called to apologise, the trainer and another trainer only apologised when 1 I called to tell them I had to take time off to identify the body, and 2 when I called to tell them about the funeral. Previously, they used to call me up at all hours about the smallest things.
About my teaching -
When I first started at Interac I was given, as my main school, what the BOE and teachers described as the worst school in the city. It probably was. Kids were smoking in the school, climbing out of second floor windows during the lessons and sitting on a 40 cm ledge smoking and talking in groups, sleeping in the class, punching teachers, bullying in the open etc etc.
3 years later the school is one of if not the best schools in the city, judging by the others I taught at. I could ‘reach’ every kid in the school, some for longer than others granted. Now the English level of even the first graders is far better than the 3rd graders from 3 years ago and almost every student in the school enjoys English lessons now. I walked into a bad atmosphere and spent every minute I was there trying to improve it through methods that Interac trainers and managers and many teachers don’t even know exist, like honesty, integrity, confidence, openess, friendliness, actually wanting to teach etc etc.
I’m not going to say I changed everything but I did what I could to improve things. There are some very nice teachers there who I respect, but at the student’s graduation ceremony this year I sat next to other teachers, head teachers, the vice principal etc and was very proud when a high percentage of the kids I’d known since their first year, walked up looking directly at me and bowed before receiving their certificates.
I will also send this to a union and to the Japan Times.
Feel free to contact me if you need anything else or if I have made some mistakes. michael1 AT mopera DOT net
Thank you for reading,
Michael Collison.
ENDS
April 16th, 2009 at 7:00 am
That is some cold shit. They should be ashamed of themselves.
My thoughts go out to you Michael, that’s a heartbreaking story. It might make you lose faith in kindness of man.
April 16th, 2009 at 7:07 am
Actually this was posted on http://www.gaijinpot.com recently, and was censored due to the fact that Interac advertise on Gaijinpot.
Gaijinpot seems to have a history of deleting negative comments about its advertisers, even when those advertisers are guilty of some pretty shabby treatment of foreign employees.
This case takes the cake.
April 16th, 2009 at 8:07 am
Well, doesn’t this take the cake. First, Mike, so very sorry to hear of your loss. Surely, even in the twilight zone which is Japanese law, you have a case to sue with the signature documents alone. It would be hard to prove the office encounter took place, but you do have the papers they wanted you to sign. Best of luck with this, especially since you are grieving at the same time.
April 16th, 2009 at 8:40 am
This is what happens all the time at dispatch companies, but this case seems to be much more severe. I can’t believe that somebody would do this to another person. I remember when my father was diagnosed with cancer and I was working for W5 Staff Services, he only had a few months to live at this time. They (staff) told me if I went home during a non-vacation period that my employment would be terminated regardless of the situation. Dispatch companies seems to be becoming more and more heartless when it comes to their employees personal situations. Michael, I hope you find another job soon, hopefully through direct-hire.
April 16th, 2009 at 11:04 am
I have an idea-lets translate it in Japanese and send it to some major Japanese newspapers.
I’d translate it myself, but probably next week, because I’ll be abroad for few days starting tomorrow.
How about that?
Only, I cannot send it to Debito for check,because my mails evidently don’t reach him.If it’s OK without a check…
– Your mails don’t reach me at debito@debito.org? Please try again?
April 16th, 2009 at 11:15 am
My word. My condolences, first of all, for a terribly tragic and sad situation. With respect to the actions of Interac, few words come to mind aside from “disgusting”. I truly hope the union or the labor bureau can be of some assistance to you as the circumstances were obviously extremely unusual (could this possibly be categorized under unfair termination of a contract?). I also hope you can find a job working for someone directly, where you might find some more compassionate employers.
One thing I hope is that word of this horrible situation gets out more extensively and puts some pressure on Interac and the industry as a whole, which, as far as I can tell, seems to thrive on such dubious treatment of its employees.
April 16th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
If you have no problems with this, I would like to print this and teach it to my students. More and more people have got to know how Japanese employers treat foreign workers in this country.
– Print away.
April 16th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
This is just about the most disgusting story I have heard about during the eight years I’ve lived in Japan. What a shameful company.
April 16th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
“He told me that if I have any more medical emergencies to call Interac 1 week before the emergency to let them know in advance.”
He’s either insane, or doesn’t believe your story. I hope you find a way to punnish these people, and move on to a better job. Good luck with it all, I’m sure I speak for all when I say you have our support.
April 16th, 2009 at 7:09 pm
“He told me that if I have any more medical emergencies to call Interac 1 week before the emergency to let them know in advance.”
This is classic. Notify us in advance of an emergency. Sigh. It’s like, when the big quake hits your town, avoid the quake.
Interac’s contact form:
http://www.interac.co.jp/contact/
April 16th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
I have heard and personally seen a lot of terrible instances of
eikaiwa management evil in 10 years here.
This just may be the worst.. it’s beyond words (civil words anyway)
I almost can’t even believe it.
I truly hope (for the sake of their souls, and I’m not even religious)that the Interac peoples’ only response is to no longer give *anyone* a “Letter of Recognition” no mater how deserving,
because such things could and should be used against them in court when they get around to eventually firing the great employee for some BS reason.
Might I add that I’m pretty sure Japanese labor law specifically allows 3 days leave for death of an immediate family member. (Though how does this apply to dispatch workers? Anyone?)
This needs to be in the Japanese news. In the papers. On Japanese TV. Let the taxpayers know how their money is being used in the schools, and what kind of heartless people are controlling it.
I know part of becoming a trainer is signing away part of your soul in exchange for a slight salary bump, a sweet schedule, vacation time, and not having to actually teach (or really work) anymore, but this Joel, if he was forced to take THIS stance, for the sake of his own mental health, I hope he is rewriting his resume and planning to quit the company ASAP.
If he wasn’t forced, well, could he at least tell us if he got a “Letter of Recognition” for toeing the company line and trying to trick the grieving Mr. Collison into resigning?
They’re worth so much. >:[
April 16th, 2009 at 8:10 pm
Disgusting! But oh so familiar. Fortunately I have never been put in such a position. Shame on that “so-called” foreign trainer for not standing up for you. I’ve yet to meet a foreigner in Japan in an English teaching position of authority who isn’t full of you know what. They’d sell their granny if it benefited them! They certainly aren’t looking out for their fellow minority that’s for sure.
April 16th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
After reading this, I’m just getting sick of teaching English here in Japan. How cold!
April 16th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
Well, we are only hearing one side of the story here.
It would interesting if an Interac employee gave their side of it here. No doubt they will be informed of this webpage several times this week. If no response comes then that will speak volumes.
April 16th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
Hi All
Appalled to read the above…….but not surprised as I have a friend that was also treated like garbage by Interac. Best thing we can all do is to spread the word and encourage the growth of companies that value education combined with basic human rights. Something in between JET and Interac would be an ideal mix.
Anyhow, I have mailed chiba1 at interac dot com and wait to see whether any response will be forthcoming.
April 16th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
I have no doubt that Interac make Gaijinpot take down any criticism of them with threats to pull advertising.
Easier to silence people than plead your case.
April 16th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
Dude I had some shiot like that happen to me. Its messed up and I feel for you. I tell you what, it might happen again, but if it does, somebody will get pounded, then hell get his resignation.
April 17th, 2009 at 7:37 am
Why the hell does anyone actually work for this “company”? I guess the “company” must be full of unsuspecting fresh off the boat young foreigners who don’t know any different. This has just got to be widely publicized.
April 17th, 2009 at 8:26 am
I’m sorry to hear of your great loss and moved by your support for your wife at this time. I beg the question- Although I think you deserve some sort of cash award (dont know the right terminology) for your unfair dismisal- Why the hell would you want to continue working for Interac? Dispatch teaching hurts all us teachers here in the long run. Have you considered directly approaching the school you were working at for a direct contract. It is possible they would hire you.
April 17th, 2009 at 11:42 am
“Satoko Aoki again and again said that I was not allowed to leave the room until I had signed.”
Having read of many people’s experiences here in Japan, it seems like situations such as the above are relatively common. For some reason, some Japanese people seem to think they possess special police powers over foreigners. Do these people treat other Japanese the same way? I would be interested to know.
April 17th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
My condolences on the death of your baby daughter.
I am posting also just to add, for the topic and the group, that I hear it is quite common for people with authority in Japan to pressure and threaten subordinates to sign things.
This is often because in Japan, the written signature or hanko will be proof in itself. Unlike common law systems, where a fact-finder will look beyond the written terms to see if there was a valid exchange (so-called “consideration”), in Japan there is no such notion.
Signed documents can be challenged, but it is often difficult to overcome the presumption that if you signed it, you “agreed”. Duress, undue influence, mistake, fraud can of course be brought in to challenge. But, as any longtime resident here might tell you, there is one hurdle on that test for foreigners, isn’t there?
I believe from personal experience that the threat of not being paid unless one signs something unfavorable is quite common. Also, that employers write their own labor laws, in contravention to what the Japanese people promised the Allied Occupation in 1947 (rule of law).
But this is not a moment for the nastiness of day-to-day.
I hope you find comfort in the small visit of a tiny baby, your young daughter, who struggled long and hard but could not stay with you.
For a reason not knowable to us in this life, she cannot walk
God’s good earth with you through the years.
But she always remains a blessing from God and I am sure is with Him.
April 17th, 2009 at 9:44 pm
I posted this on my blog once I saw it on a forum earlier this month. I have several readers who are considering coming to Japan to teach so hopefully they think twice before going through Interac.
I hate to say this but I wasn’t at all surprised by the fact that this came from the Yokohama branch. A few people I know, myself included, had some rather unpleasant experiences with Aoki.
April 18th, 2009 at 9:49 am
My condolences on the loss of your daughter. This would be hard enough to go through without your employer on your back and losing your job at the same time.
I wish there was something I could do to help in terms of legal advice, but from what I can glean Michael is on a one year fixed term employment contract, and works for the school on a dispatch basis. The contract has only been renewed twice, and the company decided not to renew it a third time. Unforunately there is not much you can do, legally speaking, unless the contract has some kind of clause which makes renewal dependent on something other than the company’s discretion, or the contract has been renewed a significant number of times. Thousands of Japanese contract workers are facing the same situation.
By the way, there is no guaranteed “condolence leave” in the Labor Law either. The company’s Work Rules often provide for it though.
April 18th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
From a comment:
““He told me that if I have any more medical emergencies to call Interac 1 week before the emergency to let them know in advance.”
He’s either insane,” - finally someone has noticed that. I do beleive many of these people are indeed insane, which does not make the situation easier. Well, maybe insane is too strong, though maybe correct, but at least the person was in the mode of “automatic conduct” and did not understand what he was saying in the least.
And please, be assured that this is the way they treat Japanese employees and Japanese employees usually accept this - I recall reading in Nikkei how a father who belonged to an executive committee of a major Japanese firm instructed his daughter who was about to join the company’s upper level that everything personal, which means “EVERYTHING” literally, she should leave at home when she goes to work, and that generally bringing personal things to work “kojin-no tsugo-no mochikomi” should not be tolerated from the employees as well… It might be a good idea to try to find laws that are realtaed to this, but no external laws however strict are going to change what’s in their heads, don’t you think?
I’m sure that publishing the story in Japanese is not going to help, they will just say “shikata-ga nai”, but on the other hand I beleive that telling private people, or maybe even students in the classroom and trying to shake them out of the “automatic reasoning” mood and informing them that humanitarian issues do exist and are valid and pertinent to human life - is something to be done as much as possible. I’m doing that all the time, and I can see minute but perceptible results in my immediate environment.
My sincere condolences on the loss of the little daughter!
April 18th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
I’m sorry to hear of your loss.
You should make a video and post it on youtube, images of you and your wife and your suffering will have a much stronger impact than words alone. Whilst you may have little recompense from a legal standpoint people should know about the situation.
Interac has a terrible reputation as it is. You should get your story translated PROPERLY and send it to every BOE that interac deals with.
April 18th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
This is a very sad story but unfortunately this is the state of English teaching in Japan these days.
There are so many people willing to do the job that you are very expendable - lots of people looking for few jobs means they could replace you very quickly.
April 18th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
This sort of treatment should not be allowed to continue. All of us who are reading and posting on this page should not let it lie. Contact Interac and let them know that you know about this, and that you will be sure to make it as widely known as possible. If they get 50 to 100 calls, they might take notice….
Can’t hurt to contact media outlets too. This exact situation is a prime opportunity for foreigners at the mercy of such companies to become part of the public eye.
April 18th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Level3 wrote:
“Might I add that I’m pretty sure Japanese labor law specifically allows 3 days leave for death of an immediate family member. (Though how does this apply to dispatch workers? Anyone?)”
Actually, the English version of the labor laws doesn’t mention this for a family member. However, Article 39 talks about ***paid*** leave for time off in Michael’s situation:
“a worker shall be deemed to
have reported for work during periods of absence from work
for medical treatment for injuries or illness suffered in the
course of duties, during periods of absence from work for
child care leave prescribed in item 1 of Article 2 of the Act
Concerning the Welfare of Workers Who Take Care of
Children or Other Family Members Including Child Care
and Family Care Leave or for family care leave prescribed
in item 2 of the said Article, and during periods of absence
from work for women before and after childbirth pursuant
to the provisions of Article 65.”
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/laborinfo/library/documents/llj_law1-rev.pdf
Gotta love the bit about “call us a week in advance of an emergency”. Someone lost a heckuva lot in the translation! Does Interac have a time machine? Would love to hear from that employee what he was trying to say.
Level3 also wrote:
“I have heard and personally seen a lot of terrible instances of
eikaiwa management evil in 10 years here.
This just may be the worst.. it’s beyond words”
Sorry, but Interac is an ALT dispatch agency, not an eikaiwa. Doesn’t make this incident any better, though. Just clarifying a point.
Glenski
April 18th, 2009 at 11:14 pm
You need a lawyer and a union.Your case is strong.The letter of resignation could save them one-month salary.The letter of resignation also means Interact is not non-renewal you.They wanted you to quit.In this case they don`t need a reason for non-renewal.Whatever reason they will write now does not count.At the first place it was an attemp of resignation, not non-renewal.A dispatch contract can be renewed unlimited times.After three years of working at the same place, the school can offer a direct employment.But if not, the dispatch contract can be renewed again.Non-renawal without proper written(!)reason (that was not given in this case) is illegal.They must pay an average salary for all the time plus compensation for moral damage.Surely they will not do it without court ruling.
April 19th, 2009 at 2:49 am
If anybody does translate Mr Collison’s letter to Debito would they be kind enough to post it on the website. I would really appreciate it.
April 19th, 2009 at 3:41 am
Regarding the censorship of this subject on Gaijinpot… are the owners of that forum now JapanToday who were Tokyo Classified now Metropolis or vice versa?
Can anyone please clarify?
April 19th, 2009 at 10:08 am
The best thing to do is NOT make a career out of teaching English here. English teaching in Japan is fine for those just out of college and who want to spend a year abroad but otherwise forget it. Dispatch companies, language schools, universities ect. you’re disposable no matter where you work. [overgeneralization deleted]
April 19th, 2009 at 10:22 am
Censorship on japan-guide.com’s forum as well. There was an Interac thread going on over there (full of people trying to come over to Japan via Interac)so I posted this info. My post was deleted.
April 19th, 2009 at 11:08 am
While Interac’s conduct raises lots of questions, many Foreign employees in Japan should really take a look at Japanese Labor Law. And stories of how terminations work. Bringing people into a room and asking them to resign is par for the course in Japan.
That said, recent labor law changes have been extended to certain classes of contract worker. Perhaps Michael’s case allows for redress in court?
April 19th, 2009 at 11:57 am
“Why the hell does anyone actually work for this “company”? I guess the “company” must be full of unsuspecting fresh off the boat young foreigners who don’t know any different.”
The simple fact is people want to go to Japan for whatever reason, and these companies are the easiest way to do it. The people I know who work for Interac all tried for JET first but were knocked back, so Interac was another chance for them to go to Japan. Nobody complains because it’s essentially “if you don’t like it you can leave, there’s other people waiting to take your place”.
April 19th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Time to go home, brother.
I’m sure you didn’t grow up in a developed Western country and get a better higher education than most Japanese people could ever dream of so that you can go move to some country where you’re going to be treated like some slob who snuck in on a turnip truck.
Japan is a blast for a few years when you’re in your 20’s, but the B.S. gets too stale to stay there long term. I had my fun there for a handful of years, but your story is an extreme example of the same Japanese sentiment that woke me up from the fun and sent me back home where I ultimately belong. They don’t really want us there long-term anyway. They want us to come over for a year or two, sip some green tea, visit some temples, then buzz off back to gaikoku and tell everyone how unique and enchanted Japan is. If we stay longer than that, we might learn that their poop smells bad, too, and they don’t want that.
So, time to head home. Your wife will love it there, trust me.
All my sympathies for losing your child.
April 19th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
>your story is an extreme example of the same Japanese sentiment that woke me up
>from the fun and sent me back home where I ultimately belong. They don’t really want
>us there long-term anyway. They want us to come over for a year or two, sip some green
>tea, visit some temples, then buzz off back to gaikoku and tell everyone how unique
>and enchanted Japan is. If we stay longer than that, we might learn that their poop
>smells bad, too, and they don’t want that.
Fantastic commentary Rick. Presumably making racist statements on an anti-discrimination site is something you consider smart? Or does lumping an entire nation of people together under a single stereotypical attitude not count as racism these days unless it’s directed at non-Japanese?
Debito - disappointed that you haven’t commented on this one.
April 19th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
>your story is an extreme example of the same Japanese sentiment that woke me up
>from the fun and sent me back home where I ultimately belong. They don’t really want
>us there long-term anyway. They want us to come over for a year or two, sip some green
>tea, visit some temples, then buzz off back to gaikoku and tell everyone how unique
>and enchanted Japan is. If we stay longer than that, we might learn that their poop
>smells bad, too, and they don’t want that.
To me, I read it so that “extreme” was the operative word. There is unarguably a sentiment out there, and in the extreme sense, it’s as the poster described.
I would go so far to suggest that the government actually also keeps tabs on how well it has done with that revolving door (one of the few left in Japan). And that certain businesses, like Interac, rely on this flow.
April 19th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
It’s cold of them and of course Im sorry to hear about the loss of Mike’s precious daughter.
I think in some areas a little more competition between companies will make the shape up a little more. I notice that BOEs give quite a lion share of these contracts to only 2 or 3 companies in a region. This is recipe for “we are going to be like this, because we can” attitudes by dispatching employers. But I heard a few companies say that if you are going to take a sick day call inform them a week before.
April 19th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
While outside Japan, I found an article, which I think could put that Aoki in jail for long time.
“Satoko Aoki was quite rude at this point and insisted that I sign them now. She told me that I couldn’t leave the room until I had signed them.{…}Satoko Aoki was now rather angry, her face was red, slightly contorted and she was showing signs of shaking.
Satoko Aoki again and again said that I was not allowed to leave the room until I had signed.”
This in Japanese is called kankin, here’s the article with details:
日本では物理的に自由を奪う場合のみならず、脅迫を以って脱出を断念させることも監禁罪となる。継続的に被監禁者を取り囲む、扉の前に立つ等の行為も監禁の手段となる。車のボンネットに人が乗っている状態で車を走らせる行為が監禁罪となったケース[1]もある。現行犯逮捕した犯人を事務所内に捕り置き、すみやかに警察機関に通報せず監禁を継続する行為も監禁罪に当る。
また、監禁罪には至らなくとも、他人の行動の自由を妨げる行為は軽犯罪法による処罰の対象となり、また迷惑防止条例等の法令に抵触する可能性が大きい。ただしこれらの法令は正当な現行犯逮捕を妨げるものではない。
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%9B%A3%E7%A6%81
Basically it says that if you stop someone from leaving certain place by physical means or by threat it is illegal restraint.Even if you hamper other person’s freedom of actions it is considered criminal act.
I’ve read before similar cases, when someone is in certain company/beauty salon’s office and they are trying to force him/her to sign a contract for some very expensive service, even on a lease.This was categorized as “kankin”,but it was long time ago and I couldn’t find a link. Hope the above information can be of help.
Sorry, my English is not so good.
April 19th, 2009 at 11:26 pm
First off, my condolences to the family.
Having been an Interac employee and knowing some of the people involved, I find it hard to believe. But that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. I can only hope that something was seriously miscommunicated and that’s the explanation for what happened. If not, there’s something seriously screwed up.
I will admit that now and again, I share #32’s feelings. I know lots of wonderful people here, but I do get the impression that institutional Japan’s regard towards foreigners does seem to be what he described. But that’s neither here nor there in this post.
April 20th, 2009 at 2:12 am
The reality, is that as an employee in this country, your rights are denied to you for the most part. The Japanese themselves have to put up with a lot more sh#t than we do, one school that I used to work at made their juku staff work through until 1am and were harassed constantly. They were made to work twice as long as I had to too. The system is set up in such a way that people are made to accept, that without the company, they would not have job. True, but without staff to do the job, they’d have no company; that’s the trade; we provide our labour, skills, knowledge, and they provide us with a salary. That is at least the case everywhere else and it is clear to all; but not in this country. Your work is never appreciated and you are made to feel expendable. I think it is one of the ways that they create this controlled, orderly society. After all, Japan has largely only been able to compete economically because it makes its workers work more than others and so by exploiting (ripping off) its own workforce (people), it has been able to compete in the car and electronics/technology sector against American, Korean, and others. No doubt Interac is a sh#t company, but from what I have read, this Akihiko had a lot to do with this. So maybe these are the conditions that Interac has to operate under. It seems to me that when it comes to the Japanese workplace, almost everyone has few rights; I heard that my previous employer didn’t like that I went to the toilet to take a piss once a day, and also didn’t like it that I went to the city every other weekend and told me that they would prefer it if I didn’t. There are some good employers out there, but in my opinion, the general rule seems to be what I have described.
April 20th, 2009 at 2:50 am
Hi Michael,
First and foremost, I’m very sorry to hear of your loss. My wife and I also lost a child for similar reasons in the 2nd trimester. There are few things more painful than the loss of a child. Thankfully we lived in Canada when it happened and my employer was extremely gracious in giving me paid compassionate and bereavement leave, and that is typical of companies here.
The folks at Interac should be deeply ashamed to say the least. Frankly if I were in Japan I would help translate and send your story to every existing BOE office Interac does or wants to do business with. In a country with an extremely low birth rate that supposedly cherishes children and family, that a firm, regardless of industry would act in such a mean-spirited manner is unconscionable to say the least. That Joel Northan and Satoko Aoki acted so unreasonably and in such mean-spirited manner in the meeting at which you were told you’d lose your job says much about their character. Sadly, I think that many folks in Japan have been subject to this type of abuse and lack or reasonable compassion from employers.
I encourage you to work not only with the English press in Japan, but also the Japanese newspapers and TV stations to make your case public to the Japanese public. Common sense and reason weren’t forthcoming from Interac and the company’s (and the responsible individuals) incredible rightly deserves to be made public.
Best of luck. As a tangent, I recommend that unless you want to spend your life “fighting the system” in Japan and want a better place to raise your multicultural children that you leave Japan.
Best,
Joe
April 20th, 2009 at 8:55 am
Even before reading this trajic account of your suffering, there was nothing about what interact, the Japanese, and the other corporation dispatch services do which could have surprised me.
Thank you for your courage and thank you for not suffering in silence. You tale needs to be told… again and again. My heart goes out to you and your family.
To all the others who may be suffering in silence: step up and tell your stories. The foreigners overseas who are willing to come to Japan under any circumstances - no matter how abusive - need to know what they are getting into by signing up with the corporate dispatch companies. Please post your stories.
I think this one needs to be told to the Japan Times and other newspapers. Try posting it on Bigdaikon.com too. There is a huge community of gaijin who read that blog regularly. Try giving it to Let’sJapan.com there is a sympathetic audience there.
April 20th, 2009 at 9:06 am
Just an update. Joel at interac has in in fact quit. He left at the end of march.
He stated “personal reasons” and this could be one of them.
He does after all have a heart!
Or it could have something to do with loosing the hiratsuka contracts?
I still work for interac, “maxceed” (or is it selnate??)
and i havent had any major problems with them.
They have even started unemployment benefits!!
However, I do recomend not puting all your eggs in one basket with them…
April 20th, 2009 at 9:55 am
Hi,
Very sorry for your loss Michael. I cannot imagine the pain you and your wife went through-and for you to have to go into work and act as if nothing had happened.
One issue that has not been addressed here is the ulterior motives Interac had for making you resign. I think they were using the day you took off and the day you came in late as their only pliable excuse to get rid of you. I don’t know what you were earning from them, but they probably just want to bring in someone for a lower price. They thought you would take this lying down and just leave without a trace.
By the way, you said you didn’t sign the papers they wanted you to sign, so are still working for them?