Consultation Case
Filipino student Anne (pseudonym, 30s)
A Filipino student who came to us for consultation filed a lawsuit against a Japanese language school she attended. In this case, Anne (a pseudonym, in her thirties) and POSSE held the school accountable for having forced her to drop out and return home.
Ann came to Japan from the Philippines in April of 2018, and while studying Japanese at a Japanese language school in Takadanobaba, Tokyo, she worked as a part-time job at a nursing home in Kanagawa prefecture.
Before arriving in Japan, Anne was told by an agency in the Philippines that if she went to Japan, she would be able to earn a living from a part-time job while studying. Ann, who was a qualified caregiver and nursing assistant in the Philippines, passed the job interview at the nursing facility and decided to attend the Japanese language school. She came to Japan with a dream to improve the lives of herself and her three-year-old son, but that dream was soon shattered.
Before coming to Japan, Anne was told that "you can earn money if you go to Japan", "the dormitory is like a hotel", and "the rent and food expenses are free". In addition, it was promised that the computers used in school classes would be lent free of charge. However, in reality, the rent for the dormitory, where up to 5 people had to stay together in an apartment with only one bedroom and a kitchen, dining, and living area, was ¥ 35,000 a month, and the meals had to be paid by herself. Plus, she was forced to "volunteer", unpaid for about 30 hours a month.
In addition, when she joined the company, she was forced to lend ¥ 300,000 from the company, and the entire amount was used for the tuition of the Japanese language school. Anne protested that the reality was different from what had been promised, but since she had just arrived in Japan, she did not know where to consult, and because she had already paid hundreds of thousands of yen to come to Japan, she had no option to refuse and return to the Philippines.
Anne did night shifts many times and continued to work hard for the users. After she protested to the company that it was strange that she did not get paid as volunteers, in January of 2019, the company told her to come to a conference room of the Japanese language school. After urging her to leave the company on the spot, the president, along with Japanese language school staff, took Anne to Narita Airport and tried to return her to Manila on the evening flight of the day. Ann ran away when the staff took their eyes off, and a passerby connected her to POSSE while wandering around the station.
On June 26, 2019, at the Tokyo District Court, Anne filed a lawsuit to hold the school accountable for providing fake information about working conditions; and apology and compensation for the school's attempt to return her to the Philipines against her will.
In this lawsuit, Anne wants the following:
① Aknowledgement of company's responsibility for bringing to Japan with false information
② Compensation for "forced withdrawal" and "forced return"