First, although there is no single statute that comprehensively regulates mental health matters, employers are required to take certain measures to protect workers’ physical and mental health under the Labor Contracts Act, the Industrial Safety and Health Act, the regulations thereunder, and guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

Specifically, employers owe a duty of care to ensure that workers can perform their work without endangering their health and safety (Article 5 of the Labor Contracts Act).

Employers are also required to conduct examinations to assess the degree of psychological burden on workers, commonly referred to as “stress checks,” and to implement certain related measures (Article 66-10 of the Industrial Safety and Health Act).

In addition, pursuant to Articles 69 and 70-2 of the Industrial Safety and Health Act, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has issued the Guidelines for the Maintenance and Promotion of Workers’ Mental Health to promote mental health measures in the workplace.

While there is no statutory provision expressly requiring employers to establish a mental health policy, the above Guidelines call upon employers to formulate a “Mental Health Promotion Plan,” which serves as a basic plan for workplace mental health measures.

There is no statutory provision specifically providing for leave due to a mental health condition. However, where the mental health condition is attributable to work and the employee is unable to work as a result, the employee will, in principle, remain entitled to wages.

If an employer has established a sick leave scheme, employees may take leave under that scheme. The eligibility requirements for taking leave under an employer’s sick leave scheme, such as the submission of a medical certificate or the exhaustion of annual paid leave, are determined by each employer in its work rules or other relevant internal policies.

Where, due to the employee’s health condition, allowing an employee to continue working would pose a specific risk to the safety of the employee or other employees, the employer may, in discharge of its duty of care, take necessary measures based on the opinion of a physician or occupational physician, including reducing the employee’s workload, transferring the employee to another position, requiring the employee to remain at home, or taking other appropriate measures.

If the employer’s work rules or other internal policies provide for a leave-of-absence scheme for non-work-related illness or injury, and the employee satisfies the applicable requirements for such leave, the employer may also place the employee on a leave of absence, provided that doing so is reasonable and appropriate in the circumstances.

It is generally considered that, as part of their duty of care under the Labor Contracts Act, employers may, by issuing a work-related order, require an employee suspected of having a mental health condition to undergo a medical examination or seek medical attention at a medical institution. However, it has also been emphasized that employers should give due consideration to the employee’s privacy when taking such measures.

Treatment received at a psychiatric or psychosomatic medicine clinic for a mental health condition is generally covered by the Employees’ Health Insurance scheme, in which eligible company employees are required to enroll. As a general rule, health insurance covers 70% of the medical expenses, with the employee responsible for the remaining 30%.

Furthermore, if the mental health condition is recognized as an occupational illness, the employee may receive medical compensation benefits covering the necessary treatment costs under the Workers’ Accident Compensation Insurance scheme.

In addition to the above, some employers may provide financial assistance for the cost of treatment at psychiatric or psychosomatic medicine clinics as part of their employee benefit programs.

A mental health condition may be recognized as an occupational disease and the worker may therefore be eligible for compensation under the Workers’ Accident Compensation Insurance scheme. The following three criteria must be satisfied for such recognition:

1. The worker has developed a mental disorder that is eligible for recognition as work-related illness;

2. The worker was exposed to a severe psychological burden arising from work during the approximately six-month period preceding the onset of the mental disorder; and

3. The mental disorder is not considered to have been caused by psychological burdens unrelated to work or by factors specific to the individual.

A person whose working life is substantially restricted over a prolonged period due to a mental disorder may qualify as a “person with a disability” under the Act to Facilitate the Employment of Persons with Disabilities. In such a case, the employee is entitled to the protections afforded under the Act, including protection against discrimination on the grounds of disability and the provision of reasonable accommodation.

However, not every mental disorder or temporary mental health condition automatically constitutes a “disability.” This is determined on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the employee’s symptoms and their impact on the employee’s working life.

(i) If an employee with a mental health condition takes a leave of absence and remains unable to return to work by the expiry of the leave period, the employer may dismiss the employee or, pursuant to the applicable provisions of its work rules or other internal policies, treat the employee as having retired upon the expiry of that period. However, there is a risk that the dismissal or termination of employment may be held invalid on the grounds that it lacks objectively reasonable grounds and is not considered appropriate in light of generally accepted social conventions (see Article 16 of the Labor Contracts Act).

If, however, the employee’s mental health condition constitutes an illness or injury arising out of employment, the employer is, in principle, prohibited from dismissing the employee during the period in which the employee is absent from work for medical treatment and for 30 days thereafter.

(ii) Where there are business-related reasons unrelated to the employee’s mental health condition, namely, where a workforce reduction is necessary, the employer may dismiss the employee if certain requirements are satisfied. These requirements are: (a) the necessity of the workforce reduction; (b) reasonable efforts to avoid dismissal; (c) the reasonableness of the criteria used to select employees for dismissal; and (d) the appropriateness of the dismissal procedures.

Information concerning an employee’s mental health and medical records constitutes “special care-required personal information” (Article 2, paragraph 3 of the Act on the Protection of Personal Information and Article 2, items 1 through 3 of the Enforcement Order of that Act). Except in certain prescribed circumstances, employers are prohibited from providing such information to a third party without obtaining the employee’s prior consent (Article 27, paragraph 1 of the Act).

Employers are also required to collect, retain, and use information concerning workers’ physical and mental condition only to the extent necessary to ensure their health, unless the worker has given consent to such collection, retention, or use (Article 104, paragraph 1 of the Industrial Safety and Health Act).

Where an employee with a mental health condition qualifies as a “person with a disability” under the Act to Facilitate the Employment of Persons with Disabilities, the employer is required to provide reasonable accommodation, such as accommodating the employee’s need to attend medical appointments and fluctuations in their health condition, permitting remote work, providing an appropriate place for rest, and adjusting the employee’s workload (Articles 36-2 through 36-4 of the Act).

Even where an employee with a mental health condition does not qualify as a “person with a disability” under the Act, the employer may nevertheless be required, as part of its duty of care under Article 5 of the Labor Contracts Act, to make reasonable adjustments for the employee in light of their mental health condition.

Where a mental health condition constitutes a mental disability, the employee is protected against discrimination under the Act to Facilitate the Employment of Persons with Disabilities. In such a case, employers are prohibited from subjecting workers to unjust discriminatory treatment in relation to recruitment and hiring, the determination of wages, the provision of education and training, access to welfare facilities, or any other terms or conditions of employment (Articles 34 and 35 of the Act).

For example, the following conduct is prohibited as constituting discrimination:

- Excluding a person with a disability from consideration for recruitment or hiring, or selecting such a person for demotion, encouragement to resign, or dismissal, on the grounds of their disability;

- Refusing to pay certain allowances or other components of wages to a person with a disability on the grounds of their disability;

- Excluding a person with a disability from consideration for promotion to a particular position on the grounds of their disability; and

- Imposing disadvantageous conditions solely on persons with disabilities in relation to recruitment or hiring, the payment of certain allowances or other components of wages, promotion to a particular position, or other employment matters.