Act on Equal Opportunity and Treatment between Men and Women in Employment

雇用の分野における男女の均等な機会及び待遇の確保等に関する法律（こようのぶんやにおけるだんじょのきんとうなきかいおよびたいぐうのかくほとうにかんするほうりつ）

It bans discrimination by sex at work, from recruitment to dismissal, protects women workers from dismissal for marrying and from dismissal or other disadvantage over pregnancy and childbirth, and makes employers act against sexual harassment at the workplace.

Text in force since
Promulgated
Articles: 37
Amendments on the way: 1

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What this law does

Employers must give people equal opportunity in recruitment and hiring, whatever their sex. They must not treat workers differently by sex in assignment (including the duties and authority given), promotion, demotion and training; housing loans and similar benefits that a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order specifies; changes of job type and employment status; and encouraging retirement, the retirement age, dismissal and the renewal of labor contracts.(Art. 5(1), Art. 6(1), Art. 6(1)(i), Art. 6(1)(ii), Art. 6(1)(iii), Art. 6(1)(iv)) (the provisions it rests on)

Read the full overview

In recruitment, hiring and the matters above, an employer must not apply a requirement other than sex that a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order lists as liable to discriminate by sex in effect, judged by the ratio of men and women who can meet it and other circumstances. The exception is where there is a reasonable ground, such as the measure being especially needed to do the work, given its nature, or for managing employment, given how the business is run.(Art. 7(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
Employers must not set a rule that women workers retire when they marry, become pregnant or give birth, and must not dismiss a woman for marrying. They must not dismiss or otherwise disadvantage a woman they employ because she became pregnant or gave birth, asked for leave before childbirth under Article 65(1) of the Labor Standards Act (労働基準法) or took leave under Article 65(1) or (2) of that Act, or for another reason tied to pregnancy or childbirth that a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order specifies.(Art. 9(1), Art. 9(2), Art. 9(3), Labor Standards Act Art. 65(1), Labor Standards Act Art. 65(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
A dismissal of a woman worker who is pregnant, or who gave birth less than a year ago, is void, unless the employer proves that it was not for any of the reasons tied to pregnancy or childbirth above.(Art. 9(4)) (the provisions it rests on)
Employers must set up a system to take consultations from workers and respond properly, and take the other employment-management measures needed, so that workers do not suffer worse working conditions because of how they responded to sexual words or conduct at the workplace, or have their working environment harmed by it. They must not dismiss or otherwise disadvantage a worker for consulting about it, or for stating facts while helping the employer deal with a consultation.(Art. 11(1), Art. 11(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
Until 30 September 2026: Employers must likewise set up a system to take consultations and respond properly, among other measures, so that a woman they employ does not have her working environment harmed at the workplace by words or conduct about her pregnancy, childbirth, leave under Article 65(1) or (2) of the Labor Standards Act (労働基準法), or another reason tied to pregnancy or childbirth that a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order specifies. The ban on dismissing or disadvantaging a worker for consulting, or for stating facts while helping the employer deal with a consultation, applies here too.(Art. 11-3(1), Art. 11-3(2), Art. 11(2), Labor Standards Act Art. 65(1), Labor Standards Act Art. 65(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
From 1 October 2026: Employers must likewise set up a system to take consultations and respond properly, among other measures, so that a woman they employ does not have her working environment harmed at the workplace by words or conduct about her pregnancy, childbirth, leave under Article 65(1) or (2) of the Labor Standards Act (労働基準法), or another reason tied to pregnancy or childbirth that a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order specifies. They must not dismiss or otherwise disadvantage a worker for consulting about it, or for stating facts while helping the employer deal with a consultation.(Art. 15(1), Art. 15(2), Labor Standards Act Art. 65(1), Labor Standards Act Art. 65(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
Employers must let women they employ take the time needed for health guidance and health checks under the Maternal and Child Health Act (母子保健法), a separate Act, as a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order provides. They must also take the measures needed, such as changing working hours or lightening the work, so that the women can follow the guidance they receive.(Art. 12(1), Art. 13(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
From 1 October 2026: Employers must set up a system to take consultations from job seekers, and others a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order treats alike, and respond properly, among other measures, so that sexual words or conduct by the employer's workers do not obstruct their job search or other activity toward choosing a job. They must not dismiss or otherwise disadvantage a worker for stating facts while helping the employer deal with such a consultation.(Art. 13(1), Art. 13(2)) (the provisions it rests on)

Article 1 states the law's own purpose

Discrimination by sexRecruitment and hiringMarriage, pregnancy and childbirthSexual harassmentHealth care during pregnancyResolving disputes

37 136 24 23 33

Amendments

A Japanese law is changed by another law or order that rewrites it — an . This law has 1 amendment on the way — , but . Its amendment history is below. The amendments this site has read the changes of are on this law's amendments page, provision by provision, in Japanese and English.

1 October 2026

in 1 day

Act Partially Amending the Act on Comprehensively Advancing Labor Measures, and Stabilizing the Employment of Workers, and Enriching Workers' Vocational Lives, etc.

労働施策の総合的な推進並びに労働者の雇用の安定及び職業生活の充実等に関する法律等の一部を改正する法律

The whole text as it will read, on e-Gov

See what it changes (40 provisions)

8 amendments already in force

11 June 2025
The text on this site
Act Partially Amending the Act on Comprehensively Advancing Labor Measures, and Stabilizing the Employment of Workers, and Enriching Workers' Vocational Lives, etc.
労働施策の総合的な推進並びに労働者の雇用の安定及び職業生活の充実等に関する法律等の一部を改正する法律
The text after this amendment, on e-Gov
1 June 2025
Act on the Arrangement of Related Acts upon the Enforcement of the Act Partially Amending the Penal Code, etc.
刑法等の一部を改正する法律の施行に伴う関係法律の整理等に関する法律
The text after this amendment, on e-Gov
17 June 2022
Act on the Arrangement of Related Acts upon the Enforcement of the Act Partially Amending the Penal Code, etc.
刑法等の一部を改正する法律の施行に伴う関係法律の整理等に関する法律
The text after this amendment, on e-Gov
1 June 2020
Act Partially Amending the Act on the Promotion of Women's Active Engagement in Professional Life, etc.
女性の職業生活における活躍の推進に関する法律等の一部を改正する法律
The text after this amendment, on e-Gov
1 April 2020
Act on the Arrangement of Related Acts upon the Enforcement of the Act Partially Amending the Civil Code
民法の一部を改正する法律の施行に伴う関係法律の整備等に関する法律
The text after this amendment, on e-Gov
5 June 2019
Act Partially Amending the Act on the Promotion of Women's Active Engagement in Professional Life, etc.
女性の職業生活における活躍の推進に関する法律等の一部を改正する法律
The text after this amendment, on e-Gov
2 June 2017
Act on the Arrangement of Related Acts upon the Enforcement of the Act Partially Amending the Civil Code
民法の一部を改正する法律の施行に伴う関係法律の整備等に関する法律
The text after this amendment, on e-Gov
1 January 2017
Act Partially Amending the Employment Insurance Act, etc.
雇用保険法等の一部を改正する法律
The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

Who it applies to

It applies to

Employers (事業主), on whom the duties on recruitment and hiring, treatment at work, marriage, pregnancy and childbirth, harassment and health care during pregnancy fall.(Art. 5(1), Art. 6(1), Art. 9(1), Art. 9(2), Art. 9(3), Art. 11(1), Art. 11-3(1), Art. 12(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
People seeking work, whom the rule on recruitment and hiring protects, and workers, men and women, whom the rules on treatment at work protect; the rules on marriage, pregnancy, childbirth and health care during pregnancy protect women workers.(Art. 2(1), Art. 5(1), Art. 6(1), Art. 9(1), Art. 9(2), Art. 9(3), Art. 12(1)) (the provisions it rests on)

4 more

Workers must also try to understand the problems of sexual and pregnancy-related harassment, take care over their own words and conduct toward other workers, and cooperate with their employer's measures; an employer itself, or a corporation's officers, must try to take the same care toward workers.(Art. 11-2(3), Art. 11-2(4), Art. 11-4(3), Art. 11-4(4)) (the provisions it rests on)
Employers must also try to deepen their workers' understanding of sexual and pregnancy-related harassment, through training and other care, so that workers take care over their words and conduct toward other workers. When another employer asks for help with that employer's own measures against sexual harassment, an employer must try to cooperate.(Art. 11-2(2), Art. 11-4(2), Art. 11(3)) (the provisions it rests on)
Employers must try to appoint a person to handle the measures this Act asks of them and others needed for equal opportunity and treatment of men and women in the workplace (男女雇用機会均等推進者, a promoter of equal employment opportunity), as a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order provides. Until 31 March 2036, the role also covers the action plan and the disclosure of information under the Act on Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement in the Workplace (女性の職業生活における活躍の推進に関する法律), a separate Act.(Art. 13-2(1), Suppl. Prov.(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
From 1 October 2026: Job seekers, and others a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order treats alike: employers must take measures so that their workers' sexual words or conduct do not obstruct their job search, and employers and workers must try to take care over their words and conduct toward them.(Art. 13(1), Art. 14(3), Art. 14(4)) (the provisions it rests on)

It does not apply to

National and local public servants (国家公務員, 地方公務員): the rules against discrimination by sex and on marriage, pregnancy and childbirth, the equal-opportunity promoter, the State's assistance to employers, the chapter on resolving disputes, and the Minister's reports, recommendations and publication do not apply to them.(Art. 32(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
Until 30 September 2026: Regular-service national public servants (一般職の国家公務員) except staff of administrative execution agencies (行政執行法人); court staff under the Act on Temporary Measures concerning Court Officers; Diet staff under the National Diet Officer Act; and Self-Defense Forces personnel: the employer measures on harassment at the workplace and health care during pregnancy in Chapter II, Section 2 do not apply to them either (the rule on the equal-opportunity promoter already does not apply to them, as above).(Art. 32(1)) (the provisions it rests on)

1 more

From 1 October 2026: Regular-service national public servants (一般職の国家公務員) except staff of administrative execution agencies (行政執行法人); court staff under the Act on Temporary Measures concerning Court Officers; Diet staff under the National Diet Officer Act; and Self-Defense Forces personnel: the employer measures in Chapter II, Section 2 — on harassment at the workplace, sexual harassment of job seekers and health care during pregnancy — do not apply to them either (the rule on the equal-opportunity promoter already does not apply to them, as above).(Art. 38(1)) (the provisions it rests on)

Special rules and exceptions (2)

The rules against discrimination by sex do not stop an employer from taking measures for women workers that aim to improve circumstances standing in the way of equal opportunity and treatment of men and women in employment.(Art. 8(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
For seafarers (船員), and people seeking to become seafarers, as the Mariners' Employment Security Act (船員職業安定法), a separate Act, defines them, the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism acts instead of the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, and the Director of the District Transport Bureau (地方運輸局長), including the Director of the Transport Supervision Department (運輸監理部長), instead of the Director of the Prefectural Labor Bureau. Not working under Article 87(1) or (2) of the Mariners Act (船員法), a separate Act, takes the place of maternity leave under the Labor Standards Act. Conciliation is by a panel of three conciliators named from a list kept under the Act on Promoting the Resolution of Individual Labor-Related Disputes, instead of the dispute coordinating committee.(Art. 31(1), Art. 31(2), Art. 31(3)) (the provisions it rests on)

How it is enforced (13)

Until 30 September 2026: When a worker complains about treatment at work, indirect discrimination, the rules on marriage, pregnancy and childbirth, or health care during pregnancy (but not about recruitment and hiring), the employer is to try to resolve it within the business, for instance by referring it to a complaints body made up of representatives of the employer and of the workers.(Art. 15(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
From 1 October 2026: When a worker complains about treatment at work, indirect discrimination, the rules on marriage, pregnancy and childbirth, or health care during pregnancy (but not about recruitment and hiring), the employer is to try to resolve it within the business, for instance by referring it to a complaints body made up of representatives of the employer and of the workers.(Art. 21(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
Until 30 September 2026: In a dispute between a worker and an employer over the rules on discrimination by sex, on marriage, pregnancy and childbirth, on sexual and pregnancy-related harassment at the workplace, or on health care during pregnancy, either side may ask the Director of the Prefectural Labor Bureau () for help, and the Director may give advice, guidance or recommendations; an employer must not dismiss or otherwise disadvantage a worker for asking. These disputes follow this Act's procedure instead of parts of the Act on Promoting the Resolution of Individual Labor-Related Disputes (個別労働関係紛争の解決の促進に関する法律), a separate Act.(Art. 16(1), Art. 17(1), Art. 17(2), Art. 11(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
From 1 October 2026: In a dispute between a worker and an employer over the rules on discrimination by sex, on marriage, pregnancy and childbirth, on sexual harassment at the workplace and of job seekers, on pregnancy-related harassment, or on health care during pregnancy, either side may ask the Director of the Prefectural Labor Bureau (都道府県労働局長) for help, and the Director may give advice, guidance or recommendations; an employer must not dismiss or otherwise disadvantage a worker for asking. These disputes follow this Act's procedure instead of parts of the Act on Promoting the Resolution of Individual Labor-Related Disputes (個別労働関係紛争の解決の促進に関する法律), a separate Act. A dispute already in conciliation (あっせん) under that Act, before a dispute coordinating committee or an appointed conciliator, on 1 October 2026 stays under the earlier rules, as the supplementary provisions (附則) of Act No. 63 of 2025 provide.(Art. 22(1), Art. 23(1), Art. 23(2), Suppl. Prov. Art. 5(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
Until 30 September 2026: Where either side applies for conciliation (調停) in such a dispute, other than one over recruitment and hiring, and the Director finds it needed, the Director has the dispute coordinating committee (紛争調整委員会) conciliate. Three conciliation commissioners conduct it, and the committee may draw up a conciliation proposal and recommend that the parties accept it. An employer must not dismiss or otherwise disadvantage a worker for applying.(Art. 18(1), Art. 18(2), Art. 11(2), Art. 19(1), Art. 22(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
From 1 October 2026: Where either side applies for conciliation (調停) in such a dispute, other than one over recruitment and hiring, and the Director finds it needed, the Director has the dispute coordinating committee (紛争調整委員会) conciliate. Three conciliation commissioners conduct it, and the committee may draw up a conciliation proposal and recommend that the parties accept it. An employer must not dismiss or otherwise disadvantage a worker for applying.(Art. 24(1), Art. 24(2), Art. 25(1), Art. 28(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
If the committee ends conciliation because it sees no prospect of settling the dispute, it must tell the parties. If the person who applied then sues on the claim within 30 days of being told, the suit counts as filed on the day conciliation was applied for, for postponing the expiry of the prescription period (時効).(Art. 23(1), Art. 23(2), Art. 24(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
Where a lawsuit over a civil dispute that could go to conciliation is pending, and conciliation is under way or the parties have agreed to try it, the court may, on the parties' joint application, suspend the proceedings for up to four months. The court may cancel that decision at any time, and neither a refusal of the application nor a cancellation can be appealed.(Art. 25(1), Art. 25(2), Art. 25(3)) (the provisions it rests on)
Where needed to enforce the Act, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare may require reports from employers and give them advice, guidance or recommendations. A Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order may delegate part of this power to the Director of the Prefectural Labor Bureau.(Art. 29(1), Art. 29(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
Until 30 September 2026: If an employer breaks the rules on recruitment and treatment at work, indirect discrimination, marriage, pregnancy and childbirth, the measures against sexual and pregnancy-related harassment, the ban on disadvantage for consulting, for helping with a consultation or for seeking help or conciliation, or health care during pregnancy, and does not follow the Minister's recommendation, the Minister may make that public.(Art. 30(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
From 1 October 2026: If an employer breaks the rules on recruitment and treatment at work, indirect discrimination, marriage, pregnancy and childbirth, the measures against sexual harassment at the workplace and of job seekers and against pregnancy-related harassment, the ban on disadvantage for consulting, for helping with a consultation or for seeking help or conciliation, or health care during pregnancy, and does not follow the Minister's recommendation, the Minister may make that public.(Art. 36(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
Until 30 September 2026: The Act's penalty chapter has a single provision: a person who does not make a report required by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, or by the Director of the Prefectural Labor Bureau to whom that power is delegated, or who makes a false one, faces a civil fine (過料) of up to 200,000 yen.(Chapter 5, Art. 33(1), Art. 29(1), Art. 29(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
From 1 October 2026: The Act's penalty chapter has a single provision: a person who does not make a report required by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, or by the Director of the Prefectural Labor Bureau to whom that power is delegated, or who makes a false one, faces a civil fine (過料) of up to 200,000 yen.(Chapter 5, Art. 39(1), Art. 35(1), Art. 35(2)) (the provisions it rests on)

How it connects to other laws

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Where the translation comes from

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The Ministry of Justice's translation is shown only where the Japanese it translates matches the law in force today. Everywhere else the English is a machine translation, marked on the paragraph itself.

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Sources

Everything this page rests on

e-Gov (Digital Agency)雇用の分野における男女の均等な機会及び待遇の確保等に関する法律 — the text in force from 2025-06-11Original
e-Gov (Digital Agency)雇用の分野における男女の均等な機会及び待遇の確保等に関する法律 — revision historyOriginal
Japanese Law Translation, Ministry of JusticeAct on Equal Opportunity and Treatment between Men and Women in Employment — Ministry of Justice translationOriginal
Machine translation, not official
Written for this site with AIEnglish titles of amending laws, written for this site
Written for this site with AIDescriptions of each law, written for this site
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