After choosing the union member at an audition, the radio station referred him to Culture Club. He was told that Culture Club as his ‘agent’ would pay his appearance fee for hours scheduled by RADIO i with 5% deducted as a management fee. The member’s live broadcasts for RADIO i were closely supervised and checked by the station’s producers. If there was no contract between FM RADIO i and the member, then what authority the station had to control his work is not clear.

The lawyer representing RADIO i claimed “Beat Takeshi and Tamori are not employees, so neither is he”. However, a RADIO i DJ is not this kind of celebrity. The station constantly engages in efforts to recruit ‘bilingual and trilingual DJs’ through its web site.

The schedule for the member’s DJ appearances was set within a month after the audition. He was hired through a process no different from that of any other employee.

Workers in Japan are guaranteed certain rights by law. Avoiding making an employment contract so that the employer will have no responsibility to the worker is just a way to get round the law. [Aichi Solidarity Union] will also be looking into what responsibility Culture Club has in this dispute.