Jul 26 (Japan Times) - An Osaka-based restaurant chain operator and its top manager were fined Wednesday for making foreign student employees work longer hours than legally permitted.
The Osaka Summary Court fined Ichimonkai, the operator of the Kushikatsu Daruma restaurant chain, ¥500,000 and 38-year-old Shohei Yabuguchi, who is the chief manager for all the stores, ¥300,000 as demanded by prosecutors for violating the immigration law.
At the restaurant chain, which serves kushikatsu deep-fried meat and vegetables skewers, 11 foreign students work beyond the 28 hours a week allowed under their visas at several outlets in the city of Osaka between last September and November, according to the ruling.
The defendants admitted to the charges during the court's first hearing last month.
