Japan high court rejects paternity harassment allegations

By YURI KAGEYAMA
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese High Court has rejected an appeal by a former brokerage manager alleging on-the-job harassment and unlawful dismissal after he took parental leave at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley. The case of Glen Wood, a Canadian who has lived in Japan for three decades, has become a symbol of concerns over “paternity harassment,” or “pata hara.” 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 Tokyo District Court ruled against Wood in 2020. Japan’s population is shrinking and the government has made parental leave a policy priority, but actual practice hasn’t lived up to the law.