Statement of Plaintiff, Mr. Glen Wood
regarding his experiences in the Tokyo District Court and High Court,
pursuing a case of wrongful termination and corporate harassment
by Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities
Tokyo District Court Judges:
Mr. Kenkichi Sakuma佐久間健吉：さくまけんきち
Ms. Misako Takada 高田美紗子：たかだみさこ
Mr. Takashi Shishido 宍戸崇：ししどたかし
Tokyo High Court Judges:
Mr. Yuji Watanabe 渡部勇次：わたなべゆうじ
Mr. Hiroshi Saito 齋藤大：さいとうだい (TBC)
Mr. Hisafumi Sawada 澤田久文：さわだひさふみ (TBC)
CC: Board Members of MUFG, Board Members of Morgan Stanley, Canadian Ambassador to Japan, United States Ambassador to Japan, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), Management of Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, Management of Morgan Stanley Mitsubishi UFJ, Global Media Outlets, National Union of General Workers Tokyo Nambu, Fathering Japan, United Nations Sustainable Development Group, The United Nations Human Rights Council, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Labor Relations Commission, Tokyo Governor Koike, Japan’s Financial Services Agency, Fathering Together, other interested groups.
Six years ago, I was overjoyed to discover that I was about to become a father. I applied for the legally guaranteed parental leave available to every employee in Japan, but my employer, Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, lied to me about the availability of such leave. Then, when my son was suddenly born prematurely and his life hung in the balance, the Company refused my application for leave and ordered me to return to my desk. They threatened me for even considering leave, and told me it was best to abandon my child to his fate.
I refused to do so, and from that day forward the Company set out to punish me. They demoted me, insulted me, circulated lies about me to my colleagues and clients, and finally terminated me without due cause. In short, they destroyed my career, nullified the investment I had made in my education, slandered my name, cast a dark shadow on my son’s childhood, and attempted to bankrupt me.
If this were an isolated case and I were the only one singled out for such inhuman treatment, I would likely have given up long ago. However, since my termination, I have received hundreds of emails and phone calls from other employees in various divisions of MUFG Morgan Stanley, all talking about their own experiences of harassment. I must assume that only a fraction of those currently suffering at the hands of this organization actually contacted me, and that number, in turn, would be only a tiny fraction of those who have suffered over the past decades.
Any doubts about this situation were put to rest in 2018 when the incoming President of the company, Mr. Saburo Araki, admitted publicly that MUFG Morgan Stanley had a huge problem with harassment, one which he promised to address. It soon became clear that he was referring only to possibly addressing future injustices, not rectifying past or ongoing cases, such as mine.
Because I am now in touch with a large group of people, many of them female and even more powerless than I was to resist the demands of selfish, insecure bosses, I feel a duty to them. I cannot give up. Because this group of victims is growing year after year, I am determined to keep fighting, whatever the cost.
The Tokyo High Court ruling in my lawsuit against Mitsubishi is scheduled to be held on June 23rdfrom 1:20 pm. Mitsubishi’s lawyers do not want to question me, and the Court has ruled that I will not testify. Therefore, for the benefit of legal specialists, journalists, and above all the general public whose interests are at stake, I am presenting an overview of the case, a summary of indisputable facts that are now in the public record.
2011.06-07 Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities (hereafter: MMS) aggressively recruits GW to rebuild their global equity business. GW accepts the offer and is hired as a regular, full-time employee with no term limit to his contract.
2012.09 GW officially begins work at MMS as a Tokumei Bucho, the
equivalent of “Managing Director” at most global financial firms. The next month he is introduced to the global firm as Global Head of Sales (bucho), reporting to Equity Group Leader Kiyomi Akihiro. GW immediately begins building a strong global equity platform.
2012.09-2015.08 GW is recognized — both inside and outside MMS — as Head of the Equity Sales Business. He generates very rapid sales growth. His superiors tell him that under his leadership this department of MMS’s business has generated a profit for the first time ever.
2015.08 GW receives exciting news from overseas: He is going to be a father. He asks the company’s HR Department about procedures for taking parental leave. HR acts surprised, as if they have no idea what “parental leave” means. HR tells GW that whatever system may be available at MMS, he will not be eligible.
2015.08.24 GW contacts a lawyer, Ms. Yoko Hayashi, to determine the legal status of his request. She explains that all employees in Japan are eligible for parental leave, that companies are required by law to grant such leave, and the application process is simple. Under Japanese law, all new parents are entitled to as much as one year’s leave from their company, without any risk of losing either salary or position. For any company to deny this basic human right would be a case of blatant discrimination and also illegal. Ms. Hayashi recommends that GW speak to HR again for clarification. The HR staff reluctantly admit that MMS does have a parental leave program, but tell GW to search for it online.
2015.10 GW submits a formal application for parental leave. MMS refuses to accept the application. The company demands that along with the application GW present a Maternity Record Book (母子手帳), a document issued only to pregnant women. In order to determine eligibility for parental leave, HR demands DNA tests of both father and child, an impossibility since the child has not been born.
GW discovers that MMS’s position has no legal basis, since in Japan parental leave is granted to ALL legal parents, regardless of biological connection to their children. (For example, adoptive parents have the same rights as biological parents to take parental leave upon birth of their adopted child).
2015.10 Official corporate evaluation of GW’s job performance reaches
even higher levels than before.
2015.10.16 Acting on advice from government officials and lawyers, GW submits another paternity leave application. In order to avoid making waves, GW accommodates the company’s unusual requests by promising to submit a DNA test immediately after the birth of the baby. MMS denies the application again.
2015.10.26 Late at night GW receives a call from the hospital overseas. Doctors say his son has been born prematurely and is in critical condition. The child must be kept in the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The doctors say that if he wants to see his newborn child, he should board a plane and come to the hospital as soon as possible, as the boy might die at any moment.
2015.10.27 Distraught and sleepless, GW’s first impulse is to rush to Narita for the first available flight. However, he follows protocol by reporting to work at 6:00 to inform his boss and HR about the new situation. He apologizes and lays out a plan whereby he can stay in constant contact with his global sales team and insure work efficiency. This third request for legally guaranteed parental leave is brusquely refused: “Get back to work!” Mr. Ryouji Yoshikawa, the HR person in charge, warns that if GW leaves, it will be considered an “Absence from Work without Permission” (欠勤) and grounds for dismissal. GW realizes that nothing he can say or do will get him permission to see his child, and after confirming contact info and ongoing plans with his team, he departs to see his newborn son overseas.
2015.12 GW spends more than a month watching over his son in the NICU and a local hotel. The child’s condition stabilizes and he is discharged. With his son out of immediate danger, GW returns to the MMS office, only to discover that his job as Global Head has been taken away. In light of his excellent performance evaluations prior to this incident and his achieving unprecedented profitability for the department, it is clear that the demotion is punishment for taking parental leave without permission. Mr. Kiyomi and Mr. Abe (the person attempting to usurp GW’s job) say that GW can return to his previous post in about 3 months, but this does not happen. When GW talks to his colleagues in the Tokyo office and around the world, they all express surprise. They explain that MMS executives had told them, “Glen is not important to our business anymore,” “He cannot be trusted,” and “He will not be coming back.”
2016.09 Mr. Scott Fujii, one of GW’s former subordinates and an employee in MMS’s New York office, registers a harassment/discrimination complaint with MMS management. Mr. Fujii’s ultimate boss is Mr. Kiyomi in Tokyo, the same executive who oversees GW and whom GW says is behind the movement to humiliate him and strip him of his job. As with GW’s case, the harassment intensifies after Fujii complains about it.
“In an atmosphere of fear, harassment and retaliation, everyone was afraid to speak out against Chiharu Abe and Akihiro Kiyomi’s leadership. I did, and believe it was a factor in the firm retaliating against me.” Scott Fujii, from his affidavit to the Tokyo District Court.
2016.10 GW continues to request that he be allowed to return to his old job. HR says “Talk to your boss,” but Mr. Kiyomi refuses to respond to his entreaties. HR consistently ignores GW’s requests that they bring about some kind of positive movement to address the problem. GW first notices that the effects of daily stress and workplace harassment are impacting his health, a situation that will eventually require medical attention.
2017.02 Mr. Fujii launches an official harassment and discrimination
complaint with Mitsubishi’s HR.
2017.06 Despite achieving strong corporate evaluations and an extraordinary performance record throughout this period of constant stress and harassment, GW is given no bonus, thereby being deprived of a substantial part of his yearly compensation.
Mr. Fujii is abruptly fired in New York. He reports his experiences to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in the US and receives a “Right to Sue” response.
“I have never witnessed nor experienced a culture as toxic as the one at MUFG, where threats, harassment, and intimidation were a rampant feature of management.” Scott Fujii, from his official affidavit to Tokyo District Court.
2017.07 MMS demands that GW void his initial contract by signing a new one that would cut his compensation by roughly 70% and relegate him to a secretarial position.
Because GW refuses to go along with this demeaning ploy, the Company bans him from returning to the office and terminates his salary payments, thereby putting financial pressure on him when he is dealing with medical and other expenses related to his son. At long last, GW decides to begin legal action to obtain redress of his complaints.
2017.10 GW’s legal counsel asks the court for a provisional injunction,
requesting that his job be reinstated and that MMS should again pay him his full salary, as stipulated in his employment contract. The court rejects that request and recommends that GW accept the secretarial position, so that he would receive some salary, after which he could launch a full-scale lawsuit against MMS.
2017.12 GW and his legal team reluctantly agree to the court’s recommendation. He will return to MMS at a much lower salary, apparently with no bonus. He is personally opposed to this unwarranted demotion, but his attorneys convince him that it is best to show a positive attitude and a willingness to cooperate with MMS to work toward a fair and equitable solution.
2018.03 MMS fires GW. The primary reason given is that he has told the media that he was harassed. MMS denies any and all harassment, and claims that GW has lied to the media.
Mr. Fujii launches his own lawsuit against MUFG in NY. The defendants are largely the same managers as in GW’s case. Fujii cites harassment and discrimination by these managers in his claim.
GW begins a Tokyo District Court trial under Judges Sakuma, Takada, and Shishido, with Judge Sakuma being the principal judge.
2018.06 After Mr. Araki, the president of MMS, admits to both the Japanese
and foreign media that the company has a huge problem with harassment and claims he will do everything in his power to eradicate the problem, GW’s attorneys request in court that President Araki be contacted. They also formally request that he be called as a witness. He refuses to respond.
Note: Other people in MMS also filed claims about harassment, and some launched lawsuits. The best known of these is the aforementioned Scott Fujii, who was harassed by some of the same executives who bullied and fired GW.
Mr. Fujii filed in New York City under US law. If the case had gone to trial, MMS would have been forced to submit all documents, emails, hard drives, cell phone records, etc. that might also have been material evidence in GW’s case (US Discovery Process).
The American judge examines the initial evidence and listens to Mr. Fujii’s testimony (something that does not happen in Tokyo), and comes to an immediate conclusion. He recommends that MMS pay a settlement to Mr. Fujii rather than face a more damaging public trial. Consequently, the company makes a private settlement with Mr. Fujii, including a legal stipulation that he never discuss the details of the case unless subpoenaed to do so in court.
2019.05 GW’s case comes to trial in the Tokyo District Court. Both MMS and GW propose that witnesses be heard in support of their positions. Judge Sakuma rules that all of MMS’s witnesses may testify in the court. He then refuses to allow any of GW’s witnesses to testify.
2019.06 After friends beg GW to take his case to the “court of public opinion,” he agrees to have a friend videotape him telling the story. The video is seen by millions worldwide on social media. Many people call the Tokyo District Court and say they will be coming to the trial in July.
2019.07.01 The trial is postponed, ostensibly because of concerns that too many people might come to show their support for GW’s case, and this would create an unsafe situation.
2019.07.05 Judge Sakuma revises his previous position and allows GW to present one witness of the multiple witnesses he had requested. Scott Fujii — the only outside person who has direct knowledge of the truth or falsity of GW’s claims — is allowed to speak to the court for approximately twenty minutes, ten of which are spent in translating his English into Japanese. All five of MMS’ witnesses are allowed to speak for much longer – some for more than an hour.
Initially in explaining their decision to demote and terminate an employee with an outstanding record, MMS claimed that GW was mentally ill. GW underwent three examinations, including two commissioned by MMS, and none showed him to be mentally ill or unstable. GW never claimed that MMS’s managers were mentally ill, since it would be contemptible as well as mendacious to make such claims without evidence. When the mental illness pretext fell through, the only explanatory arrow left in MMS’s quiver was the assertion that GW was making everything up. Therefore, alongside the obvious questions of truthfulness and legality, the matters of evidence and secrecy by all three parties (MMS, GW, and the Court) have taken on overriding significance.
2019.08 Both GW and MMS claim to have documentary evidence to support their cases. MMS often refers to its internal documents. In addition, they refer to core evidentiary documents, such as GW’s personal emails and computer-based calendar, digital documents that are held by MMS, not GW. GW submits his personal notebooks, schedules, and other documents that verify his claims.
MMS states that they have reviewed and evaluated these documents and believe that they are all fabrications or misunderstandings. MMS submits to the court some carefully chosen documents, such as GW’s emails, often edited and excerpted out of context to create a different impression from the original text. Some documents are mistranslated in attempt to mislead the court. No one ever sees the other evidentiary documentary evidence that MMS claims to possess. GW’s attorneys ask Judge Sakuma to request MMS to submit these other documents for review, as they form the core of the company’s defense. Judge Sakuma states that he has seen enough evidence by examining GW’s documents alone, and that there is no need to look at any other MMS documents.
“I believe a culture of discrimination and harassment (particularly against foreigners and women) was condoned by these management members and as such, was not surprised when I learned of Glen’s claims” “…his inputs and opinions were publicly diminished and denigrated.” Scott Fujii, from his official court statement.
2019.12.12 In another attempt to resolve the situation, GW and the National Union of General Workers Tokyo Nambu, approach MMS and begin a process of negotiations. MMS in the end, however, refuses to cooperate or even meet with the Union. As this is illegal behavior in Japan, the process is taken to the Tokyo Labor Commission which even now is communicating with MMS regarding this infraction.
2020.04.03 Judgment of Tokyo District Court is delivered: All claims by the plaintiff (GW) are denied. Judge Sakuma writes in his judgment that he did not consider Mr. Fujii’s testimony in forming his decision because he felt that Mr. Fujii was not trustworthy, exactly the opposite of the NY court, which found Mr. Fujii’s testimony to be more believable than that of MMS executives. Judge Sakuma does not state what he did not trust in Fujii’s testimony. Judge Sakuma further states that the personal documents GW submitted to the court are not reliable, and thus should have no bearing on the final judgment. He does not state what is unreliable about those documents, which are far more comprehensive than what MMS has submitted. He also states, in his formal opinion, that it was wrong for GW to speak to the media, though he does not state the legal or other grounds for considering it “wrong” to speak to the media about a public trial.
2020.4.13 GW appeals the decision, requesting that the Tokyo High Court review the District Court’s ruling.
2020.10 As the High Court proceedings begin, GW’s legal team immediately requests that the court subpoena all relevant evidentiary documents from MMS. These are the core documents to adjudicate the case, and the court has not yet been able to see them. MMS states that it has destroyed all of the relevant documents related to GW. When MMS’s attorneys are asked about the content of the destroyed documents, they assert that they have never actually seen the documents. They claim to have accepted their client’s word that the documents existed. Now their client says that the documents no longer exist.
Abe Chiharu, an MMS employee hired by both Mr. Kiyomi and GW, submits affidavits that refer to these core documents. He quotes from them and says that he is looking through them. This comes after MMS has stated that all such documentary evidence has been destroyed.
GW’s legal team again requests that President Araki speak in court. He declines to do so, in spite of his professed dedication to rooting out harassment.
<The COVID pandemic slows court proceedings significantly over the following year. During this time, GW’s legal team is waiting for MMS to submit material documents.>
Since MMS claims that relevant documents (some created by GW but belonging to MMS) have all been destroyed, GW’s legal team requests that the company provide ancillary documents, such as Mr. Kiyomi’s personal schedule data for the period in question. The limited documents that MMS eventually submits have been heavily redacted, so it is difficult to draw final conclusions from them. However, the details, such as dates and meeting times, that are visible in these documents all corroborate the schedule data that GW submitted to the District Court. As a result, it becomes more difficult for MMS to claim that GW is fabricating his timeline of events.
2022.01 GW’s legal team cross-examines Mr. Abe about the documents he says he was examining after MMS officially declared that all such documents had been destroyed. Abe states that he did not have the original documents. Instead, he was looking at a copy which he had saved on his personal hard drive. He also states that he sent copies to HR and to MMS’s legal division.
2022.02 MMS denies the claim that any evidentiary documents or copies of
such documents still exist. It states that all paperwork was destroyed and all electronic data erased. The company further states that no data can be recovered.
Data recovery experts contacted by GW’s legal team state that this is virtually impossible. Some data can always be recovered, they say, especially if it was stored on multiple hard drives, as MMS stated that it was. In addition, the data recovery experts point to something called BCP — Business Continuity Planning. Major financial institutions around the world routinely back up copies of all their internal data to multiple, geographically distant locations in order to keep the business running in the event of a natural disaster. This is especially true in earthquake-prone Japan. Not only does GW remember this policy from his time at MMS, but MUFG insiders confirm to GW’s team that it would be inconceivable that the company not have its data stored in various remote locations. Their opinions align with those of the data recovery experts: The missing/erased data definitely exists somewhere; the only question is whether or not the owner of the data (MMS) wants to retrieve it or keep it buried. Once again, the Company presents no documents in its defense. (see attached)
2022.03 GW, whose testimony in court was postponed due to Covid, is told by the High Court that he will not be testifying.
SUMMARY
As of this writing, the High Court has yet to hold its final hearing and hand down its verdict (coming on June 23rd). Rather than hand down my own verdict on the course of the proceedings thus far, I will urge readers to determine for themselves whether or not the parties in this trial have acted justly, fairly, and in good faith, whether or not decisions were made on the basis of law and truth, or other, more sordid considerations have come into play. Certainly, the laws guaranteeing parental leave, as well as the laws ensuring the sanctity of employment contracts, are wise and just, but that does not mean that all parties respect them or that the laws are being actively enforced. But as my own experience shows, fair enforcement of these laws is a vital necessity for the working people of Japan and their families. In spite of a very difficult six years, I have not given up hope that justice will be done, and positive new energy and attitudes will pervade workplaces throughout the country.