Mitsubishi Japan Employment Discrimination Case

Background

Recruitment

Workplace

Discrimination

Lawsuit

Media

Response

Defense

Leave

End

Interpretation

Conclusion

Racial Discrimination?Japanese Interview

Mitsubishi Japan Employment Discrimination Case

Hi, I had the misfortune of working for Mitsubishi Electric in Japan, a few years ago. This is my story of a rare employment-related racial discrimination lawsuit I filed against them in their home country. This story is somewhat different. Media's version of it (below) will let you know some facts regarding this case and for those with patience and open minds to explore the truth, a different story will emerge after reading my account.

First, let me introduce you briefly to my relevant background. I am a graduate of IIT Bombay (an IITian) and we are used commonly in the IT industry for developed countries like the USA and Japan. I am a permanent resident ("Green Card" holder) of the USA and it took me five years to get it. Normally, it used to take about 2 years. Moreover, as you can see from my GMAT scores that I have high verbal aptitude (left scores). (GRE scores were similar.)

I was preparing for a career in financial sector. MBA + Actuarial exams with high scores + CFA and CFP exams. Was expecting to pursue that career after getting my Green Card. I didn't want to work for in the IT industry and most definitely didn't want to work for notorious Mitsubishi but I landed up in their Computer Works in Japan. Mitsubishi went on an aggressive recruitment process to hire me, apparently at the orders of its highest executives. The purpose - you will find out soon. By the way, as most of us very well know, Japanese executives in places like Mitsubishi have racial-superiority complex towards the rest of us, especially the non-Caucasians, and even though they try hard, most of them are unable to master a foreign language like English. Now you are all set to begin your journey.

Note: Am adding more material to the other pages.

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A Case of Racial Discrimination?

An Indian Worker Sues His Japanese Employer

by Robert Guest

From the credit - Robert Guest is a British free-lance writer based in Hiroshima who contributes business and other articles to The Far Eastern Economic Review and The Independent.

The Journal - Issues in Bilateral Relations, November 1992 page 37-39 (A monthly publication of American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ).) Permission pending.

You are a foreign executive working for a major Japanese firm and you are sure that the company is giving you a raw deal simply because you are a foreigner. What can you do? "Nothing" has long been the answer. There's no point in suing, continues this logic, because this is Japan, the famous non-litigious society, and your chances of beating a large Japanese company in a Japanese court are virtually nil. You shrug it off and go have a drink at your favorite watering hole.

But all this could be changing now because of a lawsuit filed by an Indian exec against his Japanese employer - Mitsubishi Electric. A software engineer from India named [name removed] has sued his employer for racial discrimination and harassment, marking the first such lawsuit ever filed in a Japanese court. If the Japanese company loses, the fallout may be felt in workplaces from Sendai to Shikoku.

The plaintiff is alleging that whereas Japanese employees at Mitsubishi are given English-language lessons at company expense, and Caucasian staff are provided with the best Japanese-language teaching available, he has been given no assistance whatsoever in his efforts to learn the Japanese language.

Sinha understood that his contract with the Japanese company was for "life" and that it specifically stated that he was to be treated equally with his Japanese colleagues. Since he has not been, [name removed] claims that this is a clear case of racial discrimination.

The implications of this case are enormous, according to [name removed]'s lawyer, Satoshi Murata. "If we win," he claims, "Japanese companies are going to have to take the issue of racism in the workplace more seriously than has been usual up to now." If they lose, on the other hand, "It is going to make it much less attractive for foreigners, especially Asians, to come to Japan looking for work. Given the gaping labor shortage, and the desperate need for foreign labor to fill the manpower gap, this is a very serious lawsuit indeed."

The story started in the Summer of 1989 when [name removed] was headhunted by Mitsubishi Electric while teaching systems analysis at the University of Tennessee. The Japanese firm wanted him for his financial training and for his long experience in handling database systems. They offered him a job for life.

Although [name removed]'s American green card had just come through, and he had received a number of higher paying job offers from firms in the United States, he decided to join Mitsubishi Electric because, he says, he was fascinated by what he had read about Japanese companies, and liked the idea of working for a firm that treated its employees like a "family."

His contract stated that he would be treated in all ways the same as a Japanese lifetime employee and that he would be promoted in step with his age group. He was assured, he claims, that his lack of Japanese-language skills would not be an obstacle.

Once he arrived in Japan, [name removed] wanted to start to work right away on getting