[Excerpt translation from Japanese to English provided by Business & Human Rights Resource Centre] Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology reported that 2,191 doctors and dentists, including graduate students, at 50 university-affiliated hospitals have experienced cases of unpaid wages. The Ministry conducted its investigation in September 2018, looking at a total of 31,801 employees across 108 hospitals.

The government requires hospitals to sign an employment contract with employees, including graduate students, to ensure that they receive workers' accident compensation insurance. However, the Ministry's investigation revealed that 1,630 doctors and dentists across 41 hospitals had never signed an employment contract with their employer.