To whistleblowers

Subject of Reports (Worker, etc.)

Specifically, the following persons are eligible to be the subject of report.

• Worker (Article 2, paragraph 1, item (i) of the Act)
• As the definition of "worker" as used in the Whistleblower Protection Act is quoted from Article 9 of the Labor Standards Act, the term "worker" means a person who is employed for business or office and who is paid wages regardless of the kind of occupation.
  The term includes not only a regular employee but also a part-timer and a dispatched worker.
  In addition, a civil servant also falls under the "workers" in principle.
• Dispatched worker (Article 2, paragraph (1), item (ii) of the Act)
• A dispatched worker (Article 2, item (ii) of the Worker Dispatching Act) may make a whistleblowing disclosure regarding a reportable fact of the person receiving the provision of worker dispatching services.
• Retiree (Article 2, paragraph (1), items (i) and (ii) of the Act)
• Of a "person who was a worker" and a "person who was a dispatched worker", those who make a report within one year after retirement (Article 2, paragraph (2), item (i) of the Act) and those who make a report within one year after termination of dispatched work (Article 2, paragraph (2), item (ii) of the Act) will be the subject of a report.
• Worker, etc. of Client Enterprise (Article 2, paragraph 1, item (iii) of the Act)
• In the case of being engaged in a business based on a contract, workers (including dispatched workers) and retirees of a client enterprise engaged in that business will be the subject of report. In addition, workers (including dispatched workers), dispatched workers, and retirees of client enterprises that have been engaged in the business one year prior to the date of reporting also are the subject of the reports.
  The term "client enterprise" means not only the counterparty to the contract but also the counterparty to the contract such as continuous delivery contract of goods with wholesalers, continuous service contract with cleaning contractors, continuous advisory contract with consulting companies, etc.
• Officer (Article 2, paragraph 1, item (iv) of the Act)
• The term "officer" means a person who is engaged in the management of a corporation such as a director or auditor. In the case of being engaged in a business based on a contract, officers (including dispatched workers) and retirees of a client enterprise engaged in that business will be the subject of reports.

Object of Reports (such as reportable fact)

The object of the report is a "reportable fact" which is related to the recipient of services of the whistleblower and whose requirements are based on the "applicable law".

• Recipients of Services (Article 2, paragraph (1) of the Act)
• Recipients of Services are categorized into the three types below.
• [Item 1 (Worker) and Item 4 (a) (Officer)] Employer (Enterprise that is in an employment or fiduciary relationship with the whistleblower)
• [Item 2] Person receiving the provision of worker dispatching services
• [Item 3 (Worker) and Item 4 (b) (Officer)] Client
• Those relating to recipients of services include not only those relating to recipients of services themselves but also those relating to officers, employees, agents, and other persons engaged in the business of recipients of services.
• Applicable Laws (Article 2, paragraph (3) of the Act, Attached Table and Cabinet Order)
• The laws relating to the protection of life, body, property, and other interests of citizens are this Act and the Acts listed in Cabinet Order (Cabinet Order No. 146 of 2005).
• Laws subject to reports under the Whistleblower Protection Act(Available in Japanese only)
• Reportable fact (Article 2, paragraph (3) of the Act)
• A reportable fact is a fact of which requirements are provided in the applicable laws, which includes the following two types:
• [Item (i)] A fact of a criminal act or a fact that is a reason for a civil fine
• A fact of a criminal act in violation of the Penal Code or penal provisions of individual laws
  (Examples) Stealing or embezzling other people's goods (violation of the Penal Code), selling food containing hazardous substances (violation of the Food Sanitation Act), concealing information relating to automobile recall (violation of the Road Transport Vehicle Act), disposing of industrial waste without permission (violation of the Waste Disposal and Public Cleaning Act), forming a price cartel between companies (violation of the Act on Prohibition of Private Monopoly and Maintenance of Fair Trade), etc.
• A fact that is the ground for a civil fine
  (Example) An automobile company regulated by the Road Transport Vehicle Act conducts a completion inspection by an unqualified person (violation of the Road Transport Vehicle Act), a financial instruments provider does not establish a solicitation policy (violation of the Act on the Provision of Financial Services), etc.
• [Item 2] A fact Constituting Grounds for Administrative Guidance or Administrative Disposition
• A fact that will result in the imposition of administrative guidance or administrative disposition (a fact constituting "reason" prescribed in Article 8, Article 14, Article 35, Paragraph (2), item (iii) of the Administrative Procedure Act) in the case where there is a provision for criminal punishment to ensure the effectiveness of administrative guidance or administrative disposition (e.g., administrative guidance → administrative disposition → penal provision).

Recipients of Reports (3 types)

• Recipients of Services (so-called item (i) report: Article 3, item (i), main clause of Article 2, paragraph (1), and Article 6, item (i) of the Act)
• A report to the recipients of services listed in "Object of Report" above (the person receiving the provision of worker dispatching services in case of that person's reportable fact, and the client in case of the client's reportable fact), also referred to as "internal whistleblowing disclosures".
• Administrative Organ with the Authority (so-called item (ii) report, Article 3, item (ii); the main clause of Article 2, paragraph (1); and Article 6, item (ii) of the Act)
• This is a report to an administrative organ (so-called supervisory government agency) which has the authority to give administrative guidance or administrative disposition on a reportable fact. It is a kind of "external report" in that it is a report to the outside of the recipient of services.
  To confirm where to report, please use the following search system.
• Search for the administrative organs to make a report/consult about whistleblowing disclosures(Available in Japanese only)
• Other Reports outside of Enterprise(so-called item (iii) Report: Article 3, item (iii), the main clause of Article 2, paragraph (1), Article 6, item (iii) of the Act)
• This is a report to a person who is deemed necessary to prevent occurrence of a reportable fact or expansion of damage, which is a type of "external report". However, any person who is likely to harm the competitive position or other legitimate interests of the recipient of services such as a competitor are excluded.
  (Examples) Media organs, consumer organizations, trade associations, labor unions, etc.

Contents of Protection

The law provides for protection from the following disadvantages by reason of whistleblowing disclosures.

Requirements for Protection

Requirements for protection under the Whistleblower Protection Act vary depending on a recipient of a report (see each item of Article 3 and each item of Article 6 of the Act).

• Item (i) Report (Report to a recipient of services)
  It is required that a reportable fact has occurred or is about to occur.
  The phrase "about to occur" means that the occurrence of the reportable fact is imminent and highly probable, but does not necessarily mean immediately before the occurrence. If who, when, and where to do has already been decided within the company, then it can be considered as "about to happen" even though there is a period until the execution date.
• Item (ii) Report (Report to an administrative organ) If the requirement of 1. or 2. is met, the whistleblower will be protected (however, if the whistleblower is an officer, he/she is protected only in the case of 1.)
  1. There must be reasonable grounds to believe that a reportable fact has occurred or is about to occur. This is called "reasonable belief", which means that there is a reasonable basis such as evidence supportive of the reportable fact or highly credible statements by the persons concerned, rather than mere speculation or rumor.
     *If the whistleblower is an officer, it is also necessary for the officer to make efforts to take investigative and rectification measures, except for the case of an imminent danger to the life, body, or protection of property of an individual.
  2. Considering that a reportable fact has occurred or is about to occur and submit a document stating the following matters:
• Name, address or residence of the whistleblower
• Details of reportable fact
• Reasons for considering that the reportable fact has occurred or is about to occur
• Reasons for considering that statutory measures or any other appropriate measures should be taken with respect to the reportable fact;
• Item (iii) Report (Report to Media Organs, etc.)
  There must be reasonable grounds to believe that a reportable fact has occurred or is about to occurs and any one of 1. through 6. applies:
  1. here are reasonable grounds to believe that a whistleblower will be subject to dismissal or disadvantageous treatment if making a whistleblowing disclosure to a recipient of services, etc. or administrative organ;
     (Example) There was a case in the past in which a colleague was dismissed by reason of internal reports.
     * If the whistleblower is an officer, it is also necessary for the officer to endeavor to take investigative and rectification measures.
  2. a whistleblower has reasonable grounds to believe that the evidence pertaining to the reportable fact might be concealed, counterfeited, or altered if making a whistleblowing disclosure to a recipient of services, etc.;
     (Example) Company-wide violation of laws is committed by the enterprise.
     * If the whistleblower is an officer, it is also necessary for the officer to endeavor to take investigative and rectification measures.
  3. there are reasonable grounds to believe that if a whistleblower makes a whistleblowing disclosure to a recipient of services, etc., the recipient of services will divulge the information acquired with respect to the whistleblower without just cause despite knowing that the information enables the identification of the whistleblower;
     (Example) There was a case in which a colleague made an internal report, and a person in charge of receiving the report informed all employees in the company of the name of the person who made the report, but appropriate measures to prevent recurrence thereof have not taken yet.
     * If the whistleblower is an officer, the requirements for protection are not applicable.
  4. a whistleblower is requested by a recipient of services not to make a whistleblowing disclosure to the recipient of services, etc. or administrative organ without just cause;
     (Example) In the case the whistleblower is ordered by the superior not to tell anyone.
     * If the whistleblower is an officer, it is also necessary for the officer to endeavor to take investigative and rectification measures.
  5. a whistleblower does not receive a notice from the recipient of services, etc., about the commencement of an investigation on the reportable fact within 20 days from the day of making a whistleblowing disclosure to the recipient of services, etc. in writing, or the relevant recipient of services, etc. do not investigate the reportable fact without just cause;
     (Example) If no notice is received after 20 days from the written report given to the employer.
     * If the whistleblower is an officer, the requirements for protection are not applicable.
  6. there are reasonable grounds to believe that harm to the life or body of an individual, or damage to the property of an individual (excluding those in the case of conducting a business (limited to irreparable damage or substantial amount of damage to a significant number of individuals, which must be directly caused by the reportable fact has occurred), or there is an imminent danger of occurrence of the same;
     (Example) In the case of food with the immediate danger of health hazards in violation of safety regulations is being sold to consumers.

Without wrongful purposes

Whistleblowing disclosures must not be made for "wrongful purpose" (main clause of Article 2, paragraph (1) of the Act). For example, the purpose of obtaining unfair profits such as extortion of money and goods by means of reports or the purpose of inflicting tangible or intangible damage such as loss of confidence of the target enterprise or the target offender are regarded as "wrongful purpose" herein, and if there is any "wrongful purpose," it is not regarded as whistleblowing disclosure.
In addition, in order not to be judged as "wrongful purpose", it is sufficient if the main purpose of the report is not as stated above, and it is not necessary to aim purely for the public interest (to aim for the public interest such as to prevent the expansion of damage caused by the reportable fact). It cannot be said that there is any "wrongful purpose" if it is merely for the purpose of advancing the negotiation favorably or for having an antipathy against the enterprise.

Respect for Legitimate Rights, etc. of Others

A whistleblowing disclosure may include the following information:

• Personal information of third parties, such as names and medical history of hospital patients
• Information on the trade secrets of the enterprise
• Information on national security

Inadvertent dissemination of such information may cause irreparable damage to individuals and enterprises. Therefore, the whistleblower is required to make efforts not to damage the legitimate interests of others and the public interests including information management (Article 10 of the Act).