"In Japan, there are three representative systems for resolving individual labor disputes: conciliation by labor bureaus, labor tribunals, and court settlement. When we compare these, we find a tendency for males to be more numerous, regular employees to be more numerous, years of service to be longer, the managerial position to be higher, and the monthly wage to be incrementally higher in the second and third of these than in the first. However, while the difference in monthly wage is 1.4 times and 1.6 times, respectively (i.e. in the second and third systems compared to the first), the difference in resolution amounts is 7.0 times and 14.7 times. This could be because labor bureau conciliation—a voluntary system—gives more incentive to settle on low resolution amounts, while in labor tribunals and courts, a ruling or judgment will be made if no compromise is reached, meaning that the case can be concluded without considering the “risk of the other party getting away."

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