# 労働契約法 / Labor Contracts Act — 第十九条 (Article 19)

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- Law: 労働契約法 (Labor Contracts Act), 平成十九年法律第百二十八号
- English title "Labor Contracts Act": Ministry of Justice translation
- Kind: Act — the distinction between 法律 (Act), 政令 (Cabinet Order), 省令 (Ministerial Order) and 条例 (local ordinance) decides who may issue it and what it may say.
- Provision: 第十九条 (Article 19)（有期労働契約の更新等） — address `art-19`
- Text in force since: 2020-04-01
- URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/en/labor-contracts-act/art-19
- Permanent URL (e-Gov law ID, never renamed): https://japanlaw.org/l/419AC0000000128/art-19
- Every provision below carries its address and both URLs on the line under it.
- Japanese text: e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁). English: as marked on each line below.

Only the Japanese as published by the government has legal effect; the text
below is a copy of it. Every English rendering below is a translation and
says which kind: the Ministry of Justice's translation, or this
site's machine translation, whose model and date the Sources list names.
They are never merged and never substituted for one another.

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### 第十九条（有期労働契約の更新等） — (Renewal of a Fixed-term Labor Contract)
<sup>caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>
<sup>art-19 · https://japanlaw.org/en/labor-contracts-act/art-19 · https://japanlaw.org/l/419AC0000000128/art-19</sup>

**第一項**  有期労働契約であって次の各号のいずれかに該当するものの契約期間が満了する日までの間に労働者が当該有期労働契約の更新の申込みをした場合又は当該契約期間の満了後遅滞なく有期労働契約の締結の申込みをした場合であって、使用者が当該申込みを拒絶することが、客観的に合理的な理由を欠き、社会通念上相当であると認められないときは、使用者は、従前の有期労働契約の内容である労働条件と同一の労働条件で当該申込みを承諾したものとみなす。
<sup>art-19/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/labor-contracts-act/art-19/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/419AC0000000128/art-19/par-1</sup>
If, by the expiration date of the contract term of a fixed-term labor contract which falls under any of the following items, a Worker applies for a renewal of the said fixed-term labor contract, or if a Worker applies for the conclusion of another fixed-term labor contract without delay after the said contract term expires, and the Employer's refusal to accept the said application lacks objectively reasonable grounds and is not found to be appropriate in general societal terms, it is deemed that the Employer accepts the said application with the same labor conditions as the contents of the prior fixed-term labor contract:
<sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

  **一**  当該有期労働契約が過去に反復して更新されたことがあるものであって、その契約期間の満了時に当該有期労働契約を更新しないことにより当該有期労働契約を終了させることが、期間の定めのない労働契約を締結している労働者に解雇の意思表示をすることにより当該期間の定めのない労働契約を終了させることと社会通念上同視できると認められること。
  <sup>art-19/par-1/item-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/labor-contracts-act/art-19/par-1/item-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/419AC0000000128/art-19/par-1/item-1</sup>
  the said fixed-term labor contract has been repeatedly renewed in the past, and it is found that terminating the said fixed-term labor contract by not renewing it when the contract term expires is, in general social terms, equivalent to terminating a labor contract without a fixed term by expressing the intention to fire a Worker who has concluded the said labor contract without a fixed term;
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

  **二**  当該労働者において当該有期労働契約の契約期間の満了時に当該有期労働契約が更新されるものと期待することについて合理的な理由があるものであると認められること。
  <sup>art-19/par-1/item-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/labor-contracts-act/art-19/par-1/item-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/419AC0000000128/art-19/par-1/item-2</sup>
  it is found that there are reasonable grounds upon which the said Worker expects the said fixed-term labor contract to be renewed when the said fixed-term labor contract expires.
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

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## Sources

- e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁) — 労働契約法 — the text in force from 2020-04-01 (https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/419AC0000000128/20200401_430AC0000000071), retrieved 2026-09-10
- Japanese Law Translation Database System, Ministry of Justice (法務省) — Labor Contracts Act — Ministry of Justice translation (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/3744/tb), retrieved 2026-09-10
- This site's parser, version 211 — 労働契約法 — structure, counts, cross-references and defined terms, computed 2026-09-10