A Japanese train driver is suing his employer after having his wages reduced by 56 yen (NZ$0.70) after he made a mistake that delayed the train.
The train driver was fined in June 2020 by his employer JR West for a mistake that caused a train to depart one minute late.
The man is suing the company for about NZ$27,000 in damages for mental anguish caused by the ordeal.
The man drove an empty train to Okayama station, but arrived at the wrong platform while waiting to take over from the previous driver.
By the time he realised his mistake and had rushed to the correct platform, the transfer between the two drivers had been delayed by two minutes, leading to a one-minute delay in the train's departure and a one-minute delay in warehousing the train at the depot according to Soranews24 in Japan.
The man initially had his wages reduced by $1.06 but JR West agreed to reduce the fine down to $0.70 after the employee took the case to the Okayama Labour Standards Inspection Office.
The man refused the reduction arguing there was no actual disruption to the timetables or passengers as the train was empty during the incident.
But the company says it applied the "no work, no pay principle", as it would for an employee's late arrival or an unexplained absence.
The driver took his case to the Okayama District Court in March, where he is now seeking damages.
Japan is famous for having ruthlessly efficient public transport. This was highlighted in 2017 when a rail firm formally apologised for a train that departed 20 seconds ahead of schedule.
Passengers aboard Tuesday's Tsukuba Express from Minami Nagareyama station, just north of Tokyo, probably didn't notice that their service departed at 9:44:20am instead of 9:44:40am.
