In Japan, enforced labour is illegal. Enforced labour includes deprivation of freedom physically or mentally by violence, blackmail, and/or imprisonment. An example would be taking a worker’s passport away and forcing them to work under duress in the company’s warehouse.

An employer who is convicted of the offence of enforced labour under the Labour Standards Law is at risk of punishment involving from 1 to 10 years’ imprisonment and from 2,000,000 to 3,000,000 yen fine.