May 12, 2026
Last1Mile Inc.
Director Miwa Ito
Director Kohei Ichikawa
Last Mile Labor Union
Protest against the internal notice dated May 11, 2026
Our labor union is a labor union lawfully formed based on Article 28 of the Constitution of Japan, consisting of employees working at Last One Mile Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "your company").
On May 11, 2026, at approximately 4:51 p.m., our union sent an email to your employees notifying them of the formation of our union (hereinafter referred to as the "Union Formation Notice Email").
However, on the same day, your company notified all employees by posting a document entitled "[Important / Warning] Regarding the anonymous email received from an external party today around 16:51" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice in Question") on the Business Management Department-issued Kintone bulletin board for all employees.
In light of its wording and manner, as detailed below, this notice significantly violates your company's legal obligations as an employer and cannot be overlooked.
Therefore, acting on behalf of all our members, our union hereby lodges a strict protest with your company and submits the following demands.
Furthermore, this protest is made in response to the request from both Director Miwa Ito and Director Kohei Ichikawa, who are the contact persons designated by your company in the notification of this matter.
Part 1: Background and Purpose of the Formation of Our Union
1 Background of the formation of our union
Our union is an organization that, ideally, would not have needed to be formed in a company where sound internal controls and sincere labor-management communication function properly. The formation of our union is rooted in the undeniable fact that the following issues have continuously and habitually occurred within your company.
(1) Despite reports regarding various acts of misconduct by your company's executive management being submitted through the internal whistleblowing system, these were not handled properly and were instead subject to so-called "suppression."
(2) When an internal whistleblowing report was made, priority was given to thoroughly identifying the whistleblower (so-called "witch hunt" or "search for the culprit") rather than investigating and rectifying the reported matter itself.
(3) That de facto retaliatory disadvantageous treatment has been inflicted on employees suspected of being whistleblowers, such as through unilateral and forced reassignments to departments completely unrelated to their original job duties.
These facts are now known to many employees within your company and are no longer recognized by only a limited few.
Under such corporate culture, it is practically impossible for employees to express legitimate opinions in their individual capacities, and there is a realistic danger of facing retaliatory treatment if they were to take individual action.
Under these circumstances, the only way for workers to ensure their working environment and workplace well-being was to exercise the right to organize guaranteed by Article 28 of the Constitution of Japan and have a voice as a labor union organization.
First of all, we would like to make it crystal clear that the formation of our union and the fact that this formation notice email was sent anonymously are precisely self-protective and defensive measures against such corporate culture of your company. The anonymity was not something our union desired and chose, but rather something forced upon us by the current situation of your company, and the cause of this lies nowhere else than with the management of your company itself.
2 Purpose of Our Cooperative: The Social Justice of Sustainable Development
Our union's objective is by no means to seek hostility or confrontation with your company itself. Rather, our union places the core of its raison d'être precisely in ensuring that your company achieves sustainable development over the medium to long term as a company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market and as a business entity bearing social responsibilities.
Our union is convinced that achieving the following matters serves the common interests of all stakeholders surrounding your company, including your company, shareholders, business partners, customers, and the employees themselves.
(1) Establishment of sound corporate governance characterized by transparency in management and the functioning of effective internal controls.
(2) Development of a work environment where the whistleblowing system functions effectively without fear of retaliation, and thorough implementation of the purpose of the Whistleblower Protection Act.
(3) Securing a work environment where workers can concentrate on their duties with peace of mind, without fear of unfair labor practices or defamatory remarks and actions.
(4) Building sound labor-management relations based on equal and sincere dialogue between employers and labor unions.
However, we are compelled to state that your company's current corporate culture and hostile attitude toward the labor union, as symbolized by the dissemination of this matter, diverge significantly from the realization of the aforementioned objectives. If left unaddressed, your company's mid-to-long-term corporate value and social reputation will inevitably suffer severe damage, which will ultimately result in intolerable disadvantages for shareholders, business partners, customers, and employees alike.
Our union has concluded that, precisely for the sake of your company's sound and sustainable development, and from the perspective of responsibility not only to your employees but to society as a whole, we have no choice but to take a firm stance on this matter.
We hereby clearly state that our union's activities are not merely demand-driven activities as a labor-management conflict group, but rather constructive activities aimed at the sustainable development of your company and the establishment of sound labor-management relations, and that they are legitimate demands from a standpoint striving to realize social justice.
Section 2 Legal Issues Concerning this Public Notice
Infringement of the three fundamental labor rights guaranteed by Article 28 of the Constitution
The formation and operation of a labor union by workers is nothing less than the exercise of the right to organize, the right to bargain collectively, and the right to act collectively (the three fundamental labor rights) guaranteed by Article 28 of the Constitution of Japan. Our union is a labor union voluntarily formed by your employees to maintain and improve working conditions, and is a legitimate organization established within your workplace.
However, upon receiving the formation notice email in question, your company unilaterally concluded on the very same day—without making any effort to verify the nature or substance of our union—that it was an "anonymous email from an outside source" and "from an external organization entirely unrelated to our company," and subsequently disseminated this to all employees.
This denies the very existence of the labor union formed by your employees, instills an impression among all employees as if it were an illegal act by external forces, and has the significant effect of chilling union activities for current members and employees considering joining the union in the future.
2. Violation of Article 7, Item 3 (Domination and Interference) of the Labor Union Act
Article 7, Item 3 of the Labor Union Act prohibits employers from "controlling or intervening in the formation or operation of a labor union by workers" as an unfair labor practice.
As for this notification, it contains multiple issues that constitute domination and intervention, as follows.
(1) It incorrectly concludes, without verifying the nature and substance of our union, that it is "an external organization with no relation whatsoever to our company," thereby denying the very existence of the union.
(2) Positioning legitimate activities of our union in parallel with "malware infection," "phishing scams," and "the risk of having personal information and access history acquired," and calling on all employees to refrain from accessing them by stating, "We ask that you refrain from indiscriminately accessing the links," thereby having a chilling effect on access.
(3) Concluding that "the mailing list was misused" or that it was "an email from an unknown sender," thereby creating the impression as though the act of sending this formation notice email were a criminal and illegal act.
(4) It includes wording that strongly suggests so-called "witch hunts" and unfavorable treatment of union members, stating, "We are working with our legal counsel and IT security department to investigate the facts and take appropriate action," and "The company will take a firm stance."
According to established judicial precedent and Labor Relations Commission precedents, for an unfair labor practice of domination and interference to be established, it is not required that the employer had an affirmative intent to weaken the union; rather, it is sufficient if there was recognition and acceptance that the act objectively produced, or had the potential to produce, the result of weakening the union or being anti-union (see, for example, the IBM Japan case, Tokyo High Court judgment of February 24, 2005, Labor Precedents No. 892, p. 29).
Given the content, expression, and scope of disclosure of the notice (all employees of your company), it is clear that your company was at least aware of and accepted the consequence that such disclosure would chill our union's activities, deter joining the union, and thereby weaken the union. Consequently, we are compelled to conclude that the notice constitutes an unfair labor practice amounting to domination and interference under Article 7, Item 3 of the Labor Union Act.
Furthermore, the formation of a labor union is a constitutional right, and we naturally believe that the above legal interpretation applies broadly.
3. Defamatory statements against union members
This notification definitively characterized the action of the sender of the formation notification email in question (namely, our union member, who is your employee) as "unauthorized use of a mailing list" and "unauthorized activity by an unidentified person" without verifying the facts in any way.
This constitutes statements and disclosures made to all employees of your company that degrade the social reputation of individual union members, and as defamatory speech or conduct directed at union members, it may separately constitute a tort (Article 709 of the Civil Code).
4 Conflict with the purpose of the whistleblowing system and the Whistleblower Protection Act
As detailed in the first point, your company's practice of suppressing internal whistleblowing and unilaterally reassigning employees suspected of being whistleblowers constitutes a serious issue that directly violates the intent of the Whistleblower Protection Act and the guidelines based thereon.
The fact that your company has now issued this notice regarding our union formation notice, once again implying a "witch hunt," is an event that has occurred with continuity as part of these operational issues of the existing whistleblower system, and it raises extremely serious doubts about the very nature of labor-management relations and corporate governance at your company.
Part 3: Matters for Request
For the reasons stated above, our union hereby requests the following matters of your company.
記
1. Acknowledge that the notification of this matter constitutes an unfair labor practice equivalent to domination and interference under Article 7, Item 3 of the Labor Union Act, and rescind it.
Immediately delete the notification regarding this matter on the Kintone bulletin board, and post a document on the same bulletin board correcting and apologizing for the fact that the notification email regarding this formation was based on legitimate labor union activities and that the notification regarding this matter contained incorrect information, under viewing conditions equal to or greater than those of the original notification regarding this matter.
3. To pledge in writing that neither our union nor its members will be subjected to any disadvantageous treatment, searches for union members, or interference in union affairs on the grounds of sending this union formation notification email or any other legitimate union activities.
4. To confirm in writing that you will sincerely respond to any future requests for collective bargaining from our union, based on Article 7, Item 2 of the Labor Union Act.
5. Disclose in writing the background leading up to the issuance of this notice (such as the proposer, the approver, the date and time of approval, the factual recognition serving as the basis, and the presence or absence of legal review).
Section 4: Response deadline and future actions
We would appreciate it if your company could notify all employees of your response to this document by 5:00 PM on Friday, May 22, 2026.
Please be advised that if we do not receive a sincere response and action by the deadline, or if your response clearly runs counter to the intent of our union's request, our union may be forced to take legal action, including filing an unfair labor practice complaint with the Tokyo Metropolitan Labor Relations Commission (including claims for civil damages and providing information to relevant government agencies and stock exchanges).
I would also like to add that, depending on your company's response, we may be forced to consider providing information to relevant organizations, shareholders, the press, and others as a serious corporate governance issue for a company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market.
As we have repeatedly stated, our union submits this request from the perspective of aiming for your company's sustainable development and the establishment of sound labor-management relations. We strongly urge your company to sincerely accept the intent of this document and respond in good faith.
That's all.