Shokutaku means entrusted. Historically it described specialists such as company doctors or advisers engaged for a particular purpose. Today, at most Japanese companies, it is the status a long-serving employee moves into on reaching the retirement age. Their regular employment ends at 60, and they sign a new fixed-term contract as shokutaku, renewed year by year to 65 and sometimes beyond. The Labour Force Survey counted about 1.05 million shokutaku in 2025.
The label carries no legal meaning. A shokutaku is either a fixed-term employee, protected by the renewal and conversion rules of the Labour Contract Act, or, if engaged under a services contract, not an employee at all. The work rules set the terms. In practice pay drops, often sharply, bonuses shrink or disappear, and the person loses any line title, though the duties may barely change. Courts have accepted that re-employment after retirement is a circumstance that can justify some difference under the equal-pay rules, but not without limit.
For fixed-term contracts with re-employed retirees, the employer can avoid the five-year conversion right only by having a plan approved by the prefectural labour bureau.
What it means for a foreign employer
- Read the title on the CV. A candidate listed as shokutaku at a Japanese company is often a former bucho or specialist in their early sixties, doing similar work for much less. For the right role they are excellent value.
- Ask what they earned before 60. The current shokutaku salary understates what the person was paid and what their judgement is worth. Their expectations may be realistic, not low.
- If you use the label, write the terms down. A shokutaku category in your own work rules needs clear terms on pay, renewal and duties, and the approved plan if you want the conversion exemption.
- Respect the standing. A former senior manager on a shokutaku contract still carries their old network and status internally.
Sources
- Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Labour Force Survey (Detailed Tabulation), 2025 annual average.
- Act on Stabilisation of Employment of Elderly Persons, Article 9.
- Act on Special Measures for Fixed-Term Workers with Specialised Knowledge (exemption for re-employed retirees).