Resignation Agencies Face Growing Pushback from Employers

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Japanese companies are taking a tougher view of resignation agencies, which act on behalf of workers who want to quit by contacting employers and handling the procedures that follow. A survey released on April 15 by Tokyo Shoko Research found that 30% of companies would refuse to deal with such agencies, while 70% said using one could hurt a job seeker's chances in future hiring.

With the new business year now underway—a period when resignations among new employees typically rise—these services are under increasing scrutiny, including over the legal issues their use may raise.

Large Companies Report More Cases

The survey was conducted online from March 31 to April 7 and analyzed responses from 6,425 companies.

It found that 8.7% of companies had experienced at least one case since January 2024 in which an employee resigned through a resignation agency. That was up 1.5 percentage points from the previous survey in June 2025.

The gap was especially pronounced by company size. Among large companies, 21.3% reported such cases, compared with 7.8% of small and midsize firms—meaning the rate at large companies was roughly 2.7 times higher.

One likely reason is that large companies tend to have more formalized resignation procedures, which may make employees feel they can use a third-party service to leave without the personal entanglements or awkwardness that often come with resigning directly.

Legal Gray Zone

In February, the president and other executives of Albatross, the operator of the major resignation agency MOMURI, were indicted for violating the Attorneys Act. Even so, 37.7% of companies said there had been no change in the number of contacts they were receiving from such agencies.

At the same time, companies are becoming more conscious of the need to determine whether the methods used by resignation agencies raise legal concerns. Asked how they respond when approached by such firms, the largest share, 41.3%, said they proceed with the employee's resignation while dealing through the agency.

That was followed by 30.4%, who said they refuse to engage because the agency's actions may amount to unauthorized legal practice—that is, performing legal work for payment without a lawyer's license. Another 28.2% said they follow the agency's communications.

Companies are also growing more wary of job seekers who have used resignation agencies. When asked how they would respond if it came to light during recruitment that an applicant had used such a service at a previous job, the largest share —49.3%—said it would make them more cautious about hiring that person. A further 26.0% said they would choose not to hire the applicant at all.