What's different? Why is Japan seemingly immune to many of the layoffs and trends seen further afield? While cultural differences play a part in retaining employees, it's not entirely benevolence keeping Japanese employees in a job. Employee protections are also a major factor in ensuring stability for employees. Under Japanese employment law, layoffs are incredibly difficult to implement – unless the company is under severe financial difficulty and at risk of insolvency in a manner layoffs could alleviate, layoffs for permanent employees are all but impossible.