Chapter IV Miscellaneous Provisions

①An association consisting of employment placement service providers or persons offering the service of providing recruitment/candidate information as its direct or indirect members (hereinafter such providers or persons are referred to as "members" in this paragraph, and such an association is referred to as a "trade association" in the following paragraph) must endeavor to provide its members with necessary advice, cooperation, and other forms of assistance in order to ensure the proper operation of the employment placement service or the service of providing recruitment/candidate information, and to secure the protection of job seekers or those aspiring to become workers.

②The national government is to endeavor to provide trade associations necessary advice and cooperation to ensure the proper operation of the employment placement service or the service of providing recruitment/candidate information and to secure the protection of job seekers or those aspiring to become workers.

The Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare will publish guidelines necessary for employment placement service providers, job posters, persons recruiting workers, commissioned recruiters, persons offering the service of providing recruitment/candidate information, providers of worker supply services, and person intending to receive worker supply need to properly deal with the details provided for in Articles 3, 5-3 through 5-5, 33-5, 42, 43-8, and 45-2.

When finding it to be necessary for the enforcement of this Act, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare may provide a provider of employment placement services, job poster, person recruiting workers, commissioned recruiter, person offering the service of providing recruitment/candidate information, providers of worker supply services, or person seeking to have a worker supplied to it the necessary guidance and advice to ensure the appropriate administration of its operations.

①If a provider of employment placement services, person recruiting workers, a commissioned recruiter, a person offering the service of providing recruitment/candidate information, or provider of worker supply services violates a provision of this Act or of an order based on this Act in connection with its operations, and the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare finds it to be necessary to ensure the appropriate administration of those operations, the Minister may order that person to take the necessary measures to improve the administration of their operations.

②When finding that a job poster or person intending to receive worker supply is in violation of the provisions of Article 5-3, paragraph (2) or (3), or that they have made a report containing factual discrepancies when asked to report under Article 5-6, paragraph (3), or that there is a continued risk of them violating those provisions, despite having received guidance or advice under the provisions of the preceding Article as a result of violating those provisions, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare may issue a recommendation. The job poster or person intending to receive worker supply take the necessary measures to rectify their violation of the provisions of Article 5-3, paragraph (2) or (3), or Article 5-6, paragraph (3), or to prevent a violation of those provisions.

③If the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare has issued an order under the provisions of paragraph (1) or a recommendation under the provisions of the preceding paragraph to a person recruiting workers, but the person to whom the order or recommendation was issued has failed to comply with it, the Minister may make this known to the public.

①If a specified local public entity, provider of employment placement services, job poster, person recruiting workers, commissioned recruiter, person offering the service of providing recruitment/candidate information, providers of worker supply services, or person seeking to have workers supplied to it violates any of the provisions of this Act or of an order based on this Act, a job seeker who has filed a job-seeking application with the specified local public entity or provider of employment placement services, a worker who has responded to the recruitment invitation, a worker who has been provided with recruitment/candidate information by the person offering the service of providing recruitment/candidate information and responded to the recruitment invitation pertaining to the provided information or a worker whose information was provided by the person offering the service of providing recruitment/candidate information, or a worker supplied by the supplier of workers may report this to the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare and request that appropriate measures be taken.

②Upon receipt of the report referred to in the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare must conduct the necessary investigation and, if the content of the report is found to be factual, the Minister must implement measures in accordance with this Act as well as other suitable measures.

When finding it to be necessary, an administrative authority may require an employer to provide necessary reports related to employment security, such as employment or separation status of workers, wages and other such working conditions.

①To the extent necessary for the implementation of this Act, pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, an administrative authority may have a person who provides employment placement services (excluding a specified local public entity if that entity carries out free employment placement services pursuant to the provisions of Article 29, paragraph (1)), job poster, person recruiting workers, commissioned recruiter, person offering the service of providing recruitment/candidate information (excluding a local public entity if that entity carries out the service of providing recruitment/candidate information), person who provides the worker supply services, or person seeking to have workers supplied to it report on necessary matters.

②To the extent necessary for the implementation of this Act, an administrative authority may have its personnel enter the place of business or other facilities of a person who provides employment placement services (excluding a specified local public entity if that entity provides free employment placement services pursuant to the provisions of Article 29, paragraph (1)), a job poster, person recruiting workers, commissioned recruiter, person offering the service of providing recruitment/candidate information (excluding a local public entity if that entity provides the service of providing recruitment/candidate information), a person who provides worker supply services, or person seeking to have workers supplied to it, question relevant persons, or inspect their books, documents, and other such items.

③Personnel conducting on-site inspections pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph must carry their identification cards and present them to the relevant persons.

④The authority for on-site inspections under the provisions of paragraph (2) must not be construed as having been granted for the purpose of a criminal investigation.

①It is prohibited for a provider of employment placement services, job poster, person recruiting workers, commissioned recruiter, provider of recruitment/candidate information in a specified manner, provider of worker supply services, or person seeking to have workers supplied to it (hereinafter referred to as a "provider of employment placement services, etc." in this Article), or an agent, employee or any other worker of the provider of employment placement services, etc. to divulge a personal secret learned with respect to any matter handled in the course of operations, without reasonable grounds. The same applies even after the person is no longer a provider of employment placement services, etc., or an agent, employee, or any other worker of the provider of employment placement services, etc.

②In addition to the secret referred to in the preceding paragraph, it is prohibited for a provider of employment placement services, etc., or an agent, employee or any other worker of the provider of employment placement services, etc. to inform another person of a piece of personal information, or of information concerning a person specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, that it has learned in connection with its operations, without due cause. The same applies even after the person is no longer a provider of employment placement services, etc., or an agent, employee, or any other worker of the provider of employment placement services, etc.

It is prohibited for a specified local public entity or local public entity that carries out the service of providing recruitment/candidate information in a specified manner, or a person engaged in the operations of a public employment security office, specified local public entity or local public entity that carries out the service of providing recruitment/candidate information in a specified manner to inform another person of a piece of personal information, or of information concerning a person specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, that it has learned in connection with the operations of the public entity or office, without due cause. The same applies even after it is no longer a specified local public entity, or local public entity that carries out the service of providing recruitment/candidate information in a specified manner, or a person engaged in the operations of a public employment security office, specified local public entity, or local public entity that carries out the service of providing recruitment/candidate information in a specified manner.

A public employment security office may provide consultations and offer necessary advice and other forms of assistance to job seekers, etc., regarding matters related to employment placement, worker recruitment, or worker supply.

The government must formulate a plan and establish the necessary facilities for the education and training of personnel engaged in employment placement, vocational guidance, and other tasks related to the implementation of this Act.

The government must formulate and endeavor to implement a plan to ensure that the employment placement, vocational guidance, employment insurance it provides, and the purpose of this Act, are widely known.

The government may establish a liaison council if it finds it necessary to do so in order to coordinate the affairs of relevant agencies with regard to the employment placement, vocational guidance, surveys on workforce supply and demand, or worker recruitment provided for in this Act, and to consult on the means of achieving the most effective utilization of the workforce.

The Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare may provide guidance to factories, place of business, or other such workplace on increasing production efficiency by improving methods of hiring workers and ensuring that their business retain a workforce.

Pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the authority of the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare that is provided for in this Act may be delegated to the Director-General of the main employment security bureau or to prefectural labor directors.

In addition to what is provided for in this Act, the necessary procedures and other matters required for the implementation of this Act are determined by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

①This Act does not apply to mariners as provided for in Article 6, paragraph (1) of the Mariners' Employment Security Act (Act No. 130 of 1948).

②This Act does not apply to the employment placement services and the service of providing recruitment/candidate information carried out as employment assistance under Article 18-5, paragraph (1) of the National Public Service Act (Act No. 120 of 1947) (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 65-10, paragraph (2) of the Self-Defense Forces Act (Act No. 165 of 1954) and Article 54, paragraph (1) of the Act on General Rules for Incorporated Administrative Agencies (Act No. 103 of 1999)) by the Center for Personnel Interchanges between the Government and Private Entities provided for in Article 18-7, paragraph (1) of the National Public Service Act. The same applies to the employment placement services and the service of providing recruitment/candidate information that the Supreme Court's organization that conducts affairs related to post-separation employment assistance for court officials other than judges and their secretaries provides as that employment assistance upon those officials' separation from service, pursuant to the provisions of the Supreme Court Rules prescribed in Article 106-2, paragraph (2), item (iii) of the National Public Service Act as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to the Act on Temporary Measures concerning Court Officials (Act No. 299 of 1951) following a deemed replacement of terms.