🔎 Smart Job Hunting
The Right Way to Resign — Quit Without Conflict, Without Losing Out
"We won't let you quit" has no legal force. The law is on your side
📖 8 min read📅 2026-07-23
"You're quitting when we're short-staffed? Don't blame me if something happens to your visa."
That's what the factory manager said when Agus (27) from Surabaya, Indonesia told him he was resigning.
Agus had worked at a food factory in Gunma for 3 years and had an offer from a competitor with better conditions. Intending to leave on good terms, he gave notice 2 months in advance. What came back was not an attempt to keep him — it was something close to a threat.
"You can't quit until we find a replacement." "Quit now, and you're looking at damages." — Hearing that, Agus got scared. Would it really affect his visa? Could they really demand money from him? At night, he searched on his phone again and again.
The conclusion: none of those words had any legal basis.
Under Japanese law, an employment contract with no fixed term can be ended by giving notice 2 weeks in advance (Article 627 of the Civil Code). A company has no "right to stop you from quitting." Fixing penalties or predetermined damages in advance is prohibited by law (Article 16 of the Labor Standards Act), and as long as you quit through the correct procedure, you normally won't owe damages simply for resigning. And even when you change jobs, your residence status is protected as long as you follow the correct procedures.
Agus followed the steps, resigned on schedule, and is now working at his new job. So what were those words? — "Things people say because they think you don't know."
Once you've decided to quit, move by procedure, not emotion. Use the checklist below to resign without conflict — and without losing out.
Resigning is a worker's right. But precisely because it's a right, following the "correct steps" matters — both for preventing trouble and for your next residence period renewal. Check the items in order, from the top.
01.Tell your direct supervisor 1–2 months in advance
Legally, you can resign with 2 weeks' notice (Article 627 of the Civil Code, for contracts with no fixed term). However, many companies' work rules say "at least 1 month before," and counting handover and shift adjustments, **telling them 1–2 months ahead is the benchmark for an amicable resignation**. The first person to tell is your direct supervisor. If coworkers hear it first, it spreads as rumor and becomes a source of friction.
02.Even if they say "we won't let you quit" or "you'll pay damages" — resigning is your right
A company has no right to refuse your resignation. Deciding in advance that "you'll pay a penalty" or "you'll repay training costs" is prohibited by Article 16 of the Labor Standards Act. Forcing you to keep working violates Article 5 of the same act (prohibition of forced labor). "Don't blame me if something happens to your visa" has no basis either — your residence status is a procedure between you and immigration, and a company cannot revoke it. If you receive threats, record the date, time, and exactly what was said.
03.Submit your resignation letter in writing (not just verbally)
If you only say it out loud, you risk being told "we never heard that." Submit a resignation letter (taishoku todoke — with the resignation date written in and your signature), and **always keep a copy for yourself**. If they refuse to accept it, you can send it to the company by content-certified mail (naiyo shomei yubin). That leaves legally valid evidence of when you gave notice.
04.Use up your remaining paid leave
You have the right to take your remaining paid leave before your resignation date. It is legally difficult for a company to refuse paid leave requested before resignation (the right to change timing can only be exercised within the period up to your last day). The common pattern is to separate your final working day from your resignation date, and use paid leave to fill the gap. See our paid leave article for how to request it.
05.Check what to return and what to receive — as a list
**To return**: health insurance card, employee ID, uniform, company equipment, dormitory keys, and so on. **To receive**: ① separation certificate (rishokuhyo — needed for unemployment insurance procedures; usually mailed about 10 days after you leave), ② withholding tax statement (gensen choshuhyo — needed for your next company's year-end adjustment or your tax return), ③ employment insurance card, ④ pension book (if the company is keeping it). For the separation certificate and withholding tax statement, clearly ask "please send these to me" before you leave.
06.Notify immigration within 14 days of resigning
If you work on an employment-based residence status (Engineer/Humanities/International Services, Specified Skilled Worker, etc.), you are required to submit a "notification concerning your contracting organization" to the Immigration Services Agency within **14 days** of the day you resign (Article 19-16 of the Immigration Control Act). You can do this online (the e-notification system), by mail, or at the counter. The same 14-day notification applies when you join a new company. Forgetting it can put you at a disadvantage at your next residence period renewal.
07.Watch the "gap period" before your next job
On an employment-based residence status, going 3 months or more without working — without a justifiable reason — can make you subject to residence status revocation (Article 22-4 of the Immigration Control Act). The safest path is to secure your next job before you resign. Also, resigning removes you from the company's health insurance and employees' pension, so if there's a gap before your next company, switch to National Health Insurance and the National Pension at your city office (within 14 days of resignation, as a rule).
Agus kept a copy of his resignation letter and notes of the factory manager's remarks, and calmly pushed the procedures forward. In the end the company accepted it, and he used up his paid leave and resigned. He filed his immigration notification online, and his residence period renewal at the new workplace was approved without issue. "I was scared — but I knew the steps, so I could act," he told us. If you run into trouble over a resignation, consult the Labor Standards Inspection Office or FRESC below (free, anonymous OK).
