The economy is booming and free papers and the Internet are full of advertisements looking for temporary and contract workers, but some of the ads make exaggerated claims about monthly earnings and labor conditions, while keeping just inside the law on false advertising.
A man in his 20s in Odate, Akita Prefecture, saw an ad for temporary workers last November that said it was possible to earn more than 304,000 yen a month.
He came to Tokyo to interview with an employment agency and was told the job was with an automaker in Tokyo and his net monthly income would be at least 210,000 yen to 220,000 yen. He decided to take the job but soon found his actual wages were around 160,000 yen.