Former Big Motor Employee Forced to Resign After One Month Parents Speak Out About Son’s Tragic Death

Forced resignation due to nitpicking

“The last words from my son were, ‘I’m sorry for causing you worry.’ He sent them via LINE, and I immediately called back, but there was no response. My son was forced to resign by the company and was pushed to the edge.”

There is a photo in my possession (see above). A young man proudly smiles beside a car. However, I will never be able to see that smile again. The person in the photo, A-san (in his 20s), took his own life just a month and a half after that photo was taken.

The parents of A-san, who spoke with anger, directed their frustration at the company where their son worked—Old Big Motor. The company, under Itochu Corporation, overhauled its management, splitting into a new company, “WE-CARS,” and “BALM,” which handles debt restructuring. In December of last year, BALM applied for civil rehabilitation, and since then, the issues have not been widely reported.

However, there are still many victims suffering. A-san’s parents are among them. At the end of February this year, they filed a lawsuit against the government over the labor accident judgment regarding their son’s death.

“My son was assigned to a car purchasing specialist position in Hachioji, Tokyo, in April 2020. However, regarding the mandatory driver’s license requirement, he was only able to get a provisional license but didn’t manage to complete it before joining the company. Despite the unforeseen situation of the pandemic, the scheduling issues were his responsibility. He braced himself for the possibility of being scolded by the store manager and honestly explained the situation, to which he was told, ‘Let’s do our best even without the license.’ Since he was forgiven, he was determined to do his best no matter what,” said A-san’s father.

In fact, A-san was so excellent that within one month, he completed seven car purchase agreements and ranked highly among new employees nationwide.

“He was even encouraged by the store manager to move closer to the store. He chose a property from the apartments partnered with the company, got approval from the human resources department, and had already set a moving date. My son said to me, ‘For now, it seems I can continue working without the license. Since the company and the store manager forgave me, I must repay them somehow.’ But the company did something behind his back that betrayed him,” his father added.

A-san’s fate changed on May 8. The company’s executives visited the store for an environmental inspection. At the old Big Motor, a group of executives, including former vice president Koichi Kaneshige, often conducted unjust demotions and forced resignations based on nitpicking during such inspections. A-san was no exception.

After the executives left, around 6 PM, A-san received a call from the human resources department, questioning him about not having obtained his license. Around 7 PM that evening, A-san reportedly offered to resign.

On the surface, it seemed like a voluntary resignation, but later investigations by the Hachioji City Labor Standards Inspection Office determined that it was effectively a forced resignation. On the other hand, the documents submitted by Big Motor to the office falsely stated that A-san had joined the company after already having his driver’s license and that he had voluntarily offered to resign. The time between A-san being told he was fired and resigning was only about an hour. There was no face-to-face discussion; all communication was conducted over the phone.