Union & Non-Union Talent Management

Japan does not use the closed-shop union model that U.S. and UK shoots know well.

Performers here are represented by the Nippon Haiyū Kyōkai (日本俳優連合) for group bargaining instead. Day-to-day work runs through powerful talent agencies. The Labor Standards Act and social insurance flow through Tokyo's ward offices. Our team turns this hybrid set-up into something global producers can budget for. We map agency commission tiers, residual norms, and overtime pay against the rate cards used by Toho, Toei, and the major commercial shoot houses.

On single shoots, we line up buy-in letters that respect each performer's agency rep. Our team confirms rest periods and overtime limits under the Labor Standards Act, and we log health and pension input wherever Japanese performers are eligible.

Some shoots place global cast alongside Japanese talent on Yokohama studio days or location work in Kansai. There, we match home-country union duties with local norms so the shoot stays compliant on both sides. Our team handles scene-by-scene record-keeping and payroll hand-offs to Japanese tax reps. We also flag shifting guidance from METI and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, which keeps you ready for any long-term audit.

Payment is where the hybrid system needs the most care. Each agency sets its own commission tier and pay terms, so we model these into the budget upfront. Overtime, late-night premiums, and rest-break penalties follow the Labor Standards Act, not a flat rate card. We calculate residual and reuse fees where a deal calls for them. Consumption tax at ten per cent is applied correctly on each engagement, so the producer sees a true all-in cost.

Records are built to survive a later audit. We log call times, breaks, and wrap for every performer, day by day. Contracts, buy-in letters, and consent forms sit in one indexed file. Health and pension input is tracked wherever a Japanese performer qualifies. At wrap, the full pack hands to your payroll and tax reps in a form they can file. The shoot then closes clean, with no gap a labour review could later question.