Konami Loses Maternity Leave Discrimination Lawsuit

Yoko Sekiguchi, a former employee of Konami, has received a favorable ruling from the Tokyo High Court for her legal action which was linked to discrimination over her request for maternity leave.

The employee said that Konami, one of the biggest publishers in Japan, demoted her and cut her salary after she returned from a maternity leave of six months.

She was originally in charge of licesing deals linked to the Pro Evolution Soccer football simulation series.

Sekiguchi stated two years ago that, “This is discrimination aimed at female employees who chose to take maternity leave. I decided to take legal action because fellow female employees are experiencing the same type of treatment.”

After the sentence was announced she added, “I want the company to be a place where people don't have to choose between two alternatives: career or kids.”

Yoko Sekiguchi was asking for 33 million Yen, about 420,000 dollars, and only received compensation of 950,000 Yen, around 12,000 dollars.