Despite the labour commission ruling that the company had held collective bargaining with the General Union, the company was so unhappy with the recognition that its instructors had union rights under the Trade Union Law that in January 2010 it appealed. Why? Because they feared that this recognition of workers’ rights under the Trade Union Law would lead to employee rights in the future, i.e. paid leave, insurance, etc. The Central Labour Commission in Tokyo held several hearings, and suggested several times that GABA should make some kind of compromise to the union. This was not forthcoming, and in October 2010 the Central Labour Commission rejected Gaba’s appeal, stating that it had “no merit” and that the company, which had not been penalized in any way by the Osaka Labour Commission, could not appeal to have the wording changed. In November 2010, unhappy with this rebuff from the Central Labour Commission, GABA decided to sue. As the Central Labour Commission is a government body under the authority of the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare, this means they are suing the Japanese government. GABA refuses to accept the reality that the Labour Commissions have recognized that GABA instructors are not independent contractors, but are indeed employees and therefore have a right to submit demands and grievances to the company and collectively bargain for work-place improvements. The first court hearing was held in Tokyo district court on Wednesday January 19th and is ongoing. The case is likely to take some time to be resolved. Gaba has decided that suing the Japanese government is preferable to sitting down and talking to its own employees.