Chapter I. General Rules

Art.1. The aim of this Law shall be in conjunction with Trade Union Law, to promote a fair adjustment of labor relations and to prevent or settle labor disputes and thereby to contribute to the maintenance of industrial peace and to economic development.

Art.2. The parties concerned with labor relations shall make special endeavors mutually to promote proper and fair labor relations, and fix by Trade Agreement matters relating to the establishment as well as management of regular agencies to adjust differences constantly, and in case labor disputes occur, to endeavor to settle them autonomously in all sincerity.

Art.3. The government shall assist the parties concerned with labor relations to find a settlement of the differences of their claims concerning labor relations in order thereby to prevent to the utmost the occurrence of the acts of dispute.

Art.4. Nothing in this Law shall be construed either to prevent the parties from determining for themselves their labor relations or from adjusting the differences of their claims concerning labor relations by direct negotiations or collective bargaining or to relieve the parties concerned with labor relations of their responsibility for making such endeavors.

Art.5. In effecting any adjustment under this present Law the parties and the Labor Relations Committee and other organs concerned should as far as possible utilize every appropriate convenience to expedite the disposal of the case.

Art.6. In this Law, labor dispute shall mean a disagreement of claims arising between the parties concerned with labor relations regarding labor relations resulting in either conditions with the occurrence of acts of dispute or conditions with the danger of their occurence.

Art.7. In this Law, act of dispute shall mean strike, soldiering, lockout and other acts and counter-acts hampering the normal course of work of an enterprise, performed by the parties concerned with labor relations with the object of attaining their respective claims.

Art.8. In this Law public welfare work shall mean the following work which provides the services essential to daily life of the general public: a. Transportation work b. Post, telegraph or telephone work c. Work for supplying water, gas or electricity d. Medical treatment and public health work The competent minister shall have power to designate, other than the work in any item, of the preceding paragraph, any work the stoppage of which will seriously affect the national economy or seriously endanger the daily life of the general public for a specified period of time not exceeding one year in accordance with the decision of the Central Labor Relations Committee. For the decision of the preceding paragraph, the agreement of a majority in each instance of the members representing the employers workers and the neutral shall be required. Immediately after the designation of public welfare works pursuant to the provision of the second paragraph, the competent minister shall be required to widely publicise the matter by appropriate means such as the newspaper and the radio in addition to the notice in the Official Gazette.

Art.9. When acts of dispute occur, the parties concerned should report thereon to the Labor Relations Committee or the administrative authority without delay.

Chapter II. Conciliation

Art.10. The Labor Relations Committee shall each appoint and keep a panel of conciliators.

Art.11. The conciliators shall be men of knowledge and experience who are capable of rendering assistance for the settlement of the labor dispute under the provisions of this Chapter and need not reside where the Labor Relations Committee has jurisdiction.

Art.12. In event of a dispute, upon the request of both or one of the parties or on his own initiative, the chairman of the competent Labor Relations Committee shall appoint a conciliator from the panel, except that with the approval of the Committee a person not on the panel may be appointed by the chairman as a temporary conciliator.

Art.13. The conciliator shall endeavor to contact both parties, ascertain their respective points of view and assist them in arriving at a settlement.

Art.14. In case the conciliator has no prospect of effecting a settlement he shall withdraw and report the salient facts of the case to the Labor Relations Committee.

Art.15. Matters concerning conciliator other than those provided in this Chapter shall be fixed by an ordinance.

Art.16. Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed to prevent the settlement of a dispute by other means of conciliation than those fixed herein, either by mutual agreement or in accordance with the provisions of a trade agreement.

Chapter III. Mediation

Art.17. Mediation by the Labor Relations Committee under the provisions of Article 27, Paragraph 1, Item 3 of the Trade Union Law shall be carried out under the provisions of this Chapter.

Art.18. The Labor Relations Committee shall carry out mediation in any of the following cases: (1) When a request for mediation has been made to the Labor Relations Committee by both parties concerned with the dispute. (2) When both or either one of the parties requests mediation to the Labor Relations Committee in accordance with the provisions of a trade agreement. (3) When in a case involving public welfare work, a request for mediation has been made by either party to the Labor Relations Committee, and the Labor Relations Committee decide that mediation is necessary. (4) When in a case involving public welfare work the Labor Relations Committee decides that it is necessary to carry out mediation at its own initiative. (5) When in a case involving public welfare work, or, in a case having great scope or involving work of a special nature and for these reasons seriously affecting the public welfare, a request for mediation has been made by the Administrative authority to the Labor Relations Committee. In case a mediation either by a Local Labor Relations Committee or by a special Labor Relations Committee under the provisions of the preceding paragraph fails, the Central Labor Relations Committee shall have power to effect mediation either at the request of both of one of the parties concerned or at its own initiative. The mediation carried out by the Central Labor Relations Committee at its own initiative in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall be confined to the cases under Paragraph 1, Item 5.

Art.19. The mediation by the Labor Relations Committee shall be carried out by setting up a mediation Committee consisting of the members representing the employers, the members representing the workers and the neutral members.

Art.20. The numbers of members representing the employers and workers shall be equal.

Art.21. The members of the mediation committee shall be appointed by the chairman of the Labor Relations Committee from among the members of the Labor Relations Committee provided that outside members may be appointed by the chairman of the Labor Relations Committee in the following way: (1) For selecting employers representatives from outside, if agreed to by the employer members of the Labor Relations Committee. (2) For selecting labor representatives from outside, if agreed to by the labor members of the Labor Relations Committee. (3) For selecting neutral representatives from outside, if agreed to by a majority of both the employer and worker members of the Labor Relations Committee. The members appointed in accordance with the provision of the preceding paragraph shall be regarded as staff members engaged in official business under laws and ordinance.

Art.22. There shall be a chairman for the mediation committee. The said chairman shall be elected by the mediation committee from among the neutral members thereof.

Art.23. The mediation committee shall be convoked by its chairman and the decisions of the mediation committee shall be made by a majority vote. No meeting shall be held unless the members representing the employers and workers are present.

Art.24. The mediation committee shall fix the date, request the presence of the parties concerned and request them to present their views.

Art.25. The mediation Committee shall have the power to exclude from the proceedings any persons other than the parties and relevant witnesses.

Art.26. The mediation committee shall have the power to draft a proposal for settlement, to present it to and recommend the parties concerned to accept it, and to publish the proposed settlement together with a statement of the reasons thereof. If necessary, it may request the newspapers and the radio office for assistance in making them public.

Art.27. Special expedition and precedence in consideration shall be given to all mediation cases involving public welfare work.

Art.28. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent the settlement of a case by mediation by other means than those laid down here, either by mutual agreement or in accordance with the provisions of the trade agreement.

Chapter IV. Arbitration

Art.29. The arbitration by the Labor Relations Committee in accordance with the provisions of the Trade Union Law, Article 27, Paragraph 1, Item 3 shall be carried out according to the provisions of this chapter.

Art.30. The Labor Relations Committee shall arbitrate in any one of the following cases: (1) When a request for arbitration to the Labor Relations Committee by both parties concerned with the dispute. (2) When a request for arbitration to the Labor Relations Committee has been made by both or either one of the parties in a case where the trade agreement provides that application for arbitration by the Labor Relations Committee must be made.

Art.31. The arbitration by the Labor Relations Committee shall be carried out without setting up a special committee, provided that a special sub-committee may be established to determine the facts in the case. When so requested by the Labor Relations Committee, it must submit to the committee a draft award of arbitration.

Art.32. In arbitration proceedings, the Labor Relations Committee shall have the power to exclude any persons other than the parties and relevant witnesses.

Art.33. The arbitration award shall be made in writing, and the paper shall state the date the award goes into effect.

Art.34. The award of arbitration shall have the same effect as a trade agreement.

Art.35. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent the settlement of a case by other means of arbitration either by mutual agreement or in accordance with the provisions of the trade agreement.

Chapter V. Restriction or Prohibition of Certain Acts of Dispute

Art.36. No act which hampers or causes the stoppage of maintenance or normal operation of safety accommodations at factories, mines and other places of employment shall be resorted to as an act of dispute.

Art.37. In public welfare works acts of dispute by the parties concerned should be disallowed until request for mediation under the provision of Article 18, Paragraph 1, Items 1 to 3 has been made and 30 days have elapsed from the day the said request has been made or from the day the decision under Item 4 of the same paragraph or request under Item 5 of the same paragraph has been made, provided that such disallowance shall not apply to act of dispute at the works where acts of dispute have already been in progress even if the said works be designated as public welfare works pursuant to the provisions of Article 8, Paragraph 2.

Art.38. Police officers, firemen, those employed at prisons and officials and employees engaged in the work of the national, prefectural and municipal government administration or judiciary, exclusive of public enterprises, shall be disallowed to resort to acts of dispute.

Art.39. In case there is a contravention as under the preceding two paragraphs, the employer or his organization, or the laborers'organization or other persons or organization who are responsible for such contravention shall be subject to a fine not exceeding 10,000 yen. The regulations of the preceding paragraph shall when such employer or such organization or such labor organization who are responsible are juridical persons, apply to the trustees or directors or other officials discharging official duties of a juridical person. In case such persons, parties or organizations are not juridical persons, the regulations shall apply to the representatives or some other officials discharging official duties. The total fine imposed for one case of dispute shall not exceed 10,000 yen. When applying the regulations of Paragraph 1 the dissolved juridical persons, or the employer's organization or the labor union who are not juridical persons, or organizations of the parties in dispute, or other bodies, shall be considered as still in existence.

Art.40. The employer shall be disallowed to discharge or give discriminatory treatment to worker for having performed acts of dispute or for the testimony he made at the proceedings of adjustment of labor dispute under this law, provided that this shall not apply when agreed to by the Labor Relations Committee.

Art.41. Those who contravene the provisions of the preceding article shall be liable to confinement not exceeding six months or a fine not exceeding 500 yen.

Art.42. The consideration of cases of contraventions arising under the provisions of Article 39 and of the preceding article may be initiated only at the request of the Labor Relations Committee.

Art.43. The chairman of a mediation committee or the chairman of the Labor Relations Committee, in carrying out mediation or arbitration shall have power to order the withdrawal of any one obstructing the fair progress of mediation or arbitration.

Chapter VI. Compensation

Art.44. The members of the Labor Relation Committees, the conciliators under Article 12, and the members of the mediation committee in accordance with the proviso of Paragraph 1, Article 21 and those whose attendance has been requested for mediation or arbitration of a labor dispute by the Labor Relations Committee shall be compensated according to the provision of an Imperial Ordinance.