What is a nainaitei?How it differs from a naitei, cancellation rules, and when it comes

Key takeaways

1. Nainaitei is not a legal term. It comes from the government’s request that the formal job offer date be October 1 or later, and that request sets no penalty.

2. A naitei is an employment contract; a nainaitei usually is not one yet. But the substance decides, not the name: if the candidate turned down other companies or submitted a pledge at the company’s request, a contract may be found to exist, just as with a naitei.

3. Even before a contract, cancelling is not free. The Fukuoka High Court ordered a company that cancelled a nainaitei just before the formal offer to pay ¥500,000 in damages. Offers to 80 new graduates were cancelled at 29 workplaces for March 2026 graduates.

4. Students are not bound by a nainaitei. Universities have agreed that a nainaitei given on or before September 30 does not bind the student, and a signed acceptance form is considered to have no legal force.

5. Mid-career hiring has no October 1 cutoff, and cancelling an offer is judged under the same case law as for new graduates. A cancellation for business deterioration has been held invalid.

The difference between a naitei and a nainaitei is whether an employment contract exists. A naitei is understood as an employment contract with a deferred start date and a reserved right to cancel: work begins on the start date, and the company may cancel if a stated ground for cancellation applies. A nainaitei is, in most cases, a stage at which no employment contract has been concluded yet (MHLW).

The basis for treating a naitei as a contract is the Supreme Court’s Dai Nippon Printing decision (July 20, 1979). The court treated the student’s application as the offer to contract and the company’s job offer notice as its acceptance. Together with the written pledge, it found that an employment contract had been formed, with work starting right after graduation and the company keeping, until then, a right to cancel on the grounds listed in the pledge.

Sources: Cabinet Secretariat request on recruiting activities; Supreme Court, July 20, 1979; Fukuoka High Court, March 10, 2011; MHLW labor conditions Q&A; Civil Code; Labor Standards Act; Labor Contracts Act; Youth Employment Guidelines.

According to the Supreme Court, a naitei can be cancelled only for “facts that could not be known, and could not be expected to be known, at the time of the job offer,” where cancelling is objectively reasonable and socially acceptable. The MHLW also says cancelling a naitei requires a reasonable ground, as a dismissal does (Labor Contracts Act Art. 16).

The candidate, on the other hand, can withdraw even from a naitei. Employment with no fixed term ends two weeks after notice (Civil Code Art. 627(1)), so notice given at least two weeks before the start date ends the contract. For a nainaitei, the Council on Employment Issues, a body of universities, has agreed that “a nainaitei given on or before September 30 does not bind the student.”

As a rule, a nainaitei comes between June 1, when selection may start, and September 30, the day before the formal offer date. Since the March 2026 graduates, companies may give a nainaitei after the March publicity start, but only to students recognized as highly specialized through a specialist internship of two weeks or more.

In April 2023 the government revised the schedule for students who use internships: after the March publicity start, companies may give a nainaitei without waiting for the June selection start. Even then, the formal offer date stays October 1 or later.

Offer rates come from surveys with different samples and methods, so the figures cannot be compared with each other. Recruit changed its method for 2027 graduates. Sources: Indeed Recruit Partners Research Center, 2027 graduates job offer rate survey (as of June 1, 2026; 585 university students); same company, 2026 graduates job offer rate (as of October 1, 2025; 721 university students); Mynavi Career Research Lab, 2027 graduates career survey, September (1,833 students).

The schedule is only a rule: among 2027 university graduates, 38.1% already had an offer (including nainaitei) on March 1, when publicity starts, and 77.2% on June 1, when selection starts. And under a 2022 agreement between MEXT, MHLW and METI, student information gathered through type 3 internships can be used for publicity from March and for selection from June.

The government is considering a review of the schedule for students graduating in fiscal 2028 and later (Cabinet Office minister’s press conference, March 24, 2026). We will update this page if the rules change.

When you get a nainaitei, first check the reply deadline and the formal offer date. No law sets how long you can hold a nainaitei: the company’s reply deadline is the guide. If you cannot decide by then, ask for more time before the deadline.

1. Check what the notice says

   Check the reply deadline, the formal offer date, the planned start date, and when the working conditions will be given. If no deadline is written, ask the recruiter.

2. Unsure? Ask to hold before the deadline

   Give a reason, such as waiting for another company’s results, and say when you can answer. In 2027 graduate hiring, 38.5% of companies said half or more of the students they gave a nainaitei asked them to wait for an answer (Mynavi, 2,154 companies). Some companies, though, read a request for more time as a sign they are not your first choice and move on to other candidates.

3. Accepting? Ask about the schedule up to the naitei

   Check the date of the naitei ceremony, when you will receive the offer letter and the labor conditions notice, and any pre-joining training or documents.

4. Declining? Say so as soon as you decide

   Tell them by phone and follow up by email. The company uses your answer to adjust its hiring numbers and next selection rounds.

I usually advise companies to set one week, and especially to include a weekend, so that the candidate has time to think it over without competing obligations; weekdays are busy. It is also enough time to talk it over with a spouse or partner, and to seek advice if needed. If a candidate needs more time after a week, it usually means they are stalling: either they are waiting on details of competing offers, or they want to keep your company as an option. Either way, it often means you are not their priority, so unless the candidate is stellar, I suggest moving on to other candidates if that is an option.

Can you accept a nainaitei just to keep it?

Legally, accepting a nainaitei does not bind the student. The Council on Employment Issues has agreed that a nainaitei given on or before September 30 does not bind the student, and a signed acceptance form or pledge is considered to have no legal force (Osaka Prefecture). The MHLW also says that, given the freedom to choose one’s occupation (Constitution Art. 22(1)), declining a nainaitei is hardly ever unlawful, and that declining a naitei can at most lead to a damages claim if it goes too far against good faith.

Declining is common: among 2027 university graduates with an offer on June 1, 51.7% had already declined at least one (Recruit). But companies plan their hiring on your acceptance, so if you accept and later choose another company, tell them as soon as you decide.

Should you stop job hunting once you get a nainaitei?

In Mynavi’s 2027 graduates review, students held 1.67 nainaitei on average at the end of June, and 62.8% ended their job search with one. If you keep going, first check whether other companies’ results will come before the nainaitei reply deadline, and whether their selection dates clash with the naitei ceremony and other events.

Pressured to turn down other companies (owahara)

The government’s request calls forcing students to stop job hunting at other companies in exchange for a naitei or nainaitei, known as owahara, “an impermissible act that may infringe the freedom to choose one’s occupation.” Universities also ask companies to refrain from requiring an acceptance form or pledge at the nainaitei stage, as a form of owahara. If you are pressured, you can consult a General Labor Consultation Corner.

Companies giving a nainaitei need to get three things right: do not ask for an acceptance form, or for the candidate to turn down other companies, in exchange for it; state the cancellation grounds and working conditions in writing with the formal offer; and if cancelling a new graduate’s offer, notify Hello Work and the school beforehand.

I advise SMBs to skip the nainaitei and go straight to a naitei. SMBs are “sellers”: they need to convince good candidates to join, so they should remove as many steps as possible from the process. Large and reputable companies can afford longer processes, but generally speaking, the more decisive a hiring practice, the better the results. When I was recruiting for Google, we went straight to the offer despite being one of the top hiring brands. Speed helps secure the best candidates, and it is an advantage SMBs should have, because they have fewer decision layers to go through. Use it!

For new graduates, the government’s request sets the formal offer date at October 1 or later, but the request sets no penalty, so whether to make an offer earlier is each company’s decision.

1. If you give a nainaitei, share only the formal offer date and the plan

   Give the formal offer date, the planned start date and the planned assignment. Do not ask for an acceptance form or pledge, or for the candidate to turn down other companies. The Youth Employment Guidelines ask employers not to force candidates to stop job hunting elsewhere in exchange for a nainaitei (create a nainaitei letter).

2. Set the reply deadline as a date

   Before sending the notice, decide the deadline and what you will do if the candidate asks for more time.

3. Make the formal offer in writing, with the cancellation grounds

   The same guidelines ask employers to state the timing of hiring, the conditions and the grounds for cancelling the offer in writing or similar, and, if graduation is a condition, to say so at the time of the offer (create an offer letter).

4. If the offer forms the contract, give the working conditions in writing

   The disclosure required by Labor Standards Act Art. 15 is due at the time of the offer if the offer forms the contract. If the assignment or duties are not yet decided, give what is expected at the start. Since April 2024, include the scope of possible changes to workplace and duties (employment contract templates).

5. If you cancel, notify Hello Work and the school first

   When cancelling or withdrawing an offer to a new graduate, notify Hello Work and the school in advance (Enforcement Regulations of the Employment Security Act, Art. 35(2)(ii)). The Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare may publish the company’s name in cases such as cancellations in two or more consecutive years, cancellations of 10 or more people in one year (unless the company quickly found them stable jobs), cancellations where a business downturn is not evident, or cancellations without an explanation or job-search support (2009 MHLW Notice No. 5). Put the reasons in writing with a notice of job offer withdrawal.

An administrative interpretation holds that the 30-day dismissal notice (Labor Standards Act Art. 20) applies to cancelling a naitei. A court has held otherwise, so check with a lawyer or a certified social insurance and labor consultant before cancelling.