The Tokyo District Court on Wednesday ordered Mizuho Bank to pay ¥3.3 million ($21,300) to a former employee for emotional damage, saying its instruction that he stay at home at reduced pay for five years without any work is illegal.
But the court rejected the plaintiff’s claim that his dismissal from the company should be considered invalid, with its ruling stating that he had failed to comply with instructions from the company when he was told to return to the office.
The civil case was filed in 2021, when the former worker was dismissed after five years of being instructed to stay home. He sought about ¥33 million in damages, including wages he should have received, as well as a ruling on whether Mizuho’s measure was in line with the law.