A Japanese high court on Thursday rejected an appeal by a former brokerage manager alleging on-the-job harassment and unlawful dismissal after he took parental leave while working at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley.

The case of Glen Wood, a Canadian who has lived in Japan for more than three decades, has come to symbolize concerns over “paternity harassment,” or patahara. Wood's is a rare case, for Japan, of a father seeking to take parental leave. Maternity harassment is more common.

Wood began his fight in 2017, alleging he was harassed and forced from his job after taking parental leave when his son was born in 2015.

The company rejected Wood's request for parental leave. His son was born prematurely and he rushed to see him though the company told him to just keep working, according to the lawsuit.

When Wood returned to work in 2016, he was stripped of some of his responsibilities and excluded from business meetings, according to court testimony. The company dismissed him in 2018.

In a 21-page ruling, the Tokyo High Court rejected the harassment claims. It defended the company’s acts as “inevitable.” ...continue reading