Photo: Asahi. Rin Aizawa is second from the left.
Rin Aizawa, an aspiring tarento who describes herself as an eternal eighteen year old, was working at a maid cafe in Osaka at 800 yen an hour earlier this year when she questioned her employer over their claim that anyone arriving late for work would be fined 3,000 yen. Her employer promptly responded with an email saying her services were no longer required. Aizawa decided to take them to court but couldn't afford a lawyer so she wrote her own petition based on examples she found on the net. She claimed unpaid overtime, backpayment of wages and compensation to the tune of 490,000 yen. The summary court judge urged the parties to come to a settlement and her employer eventually agreed to apologize and pay her 170,000 yen. Aizawa, who now works at another maid cafe in the area, declared herself delighted with the result and thanked the colleagues and customers who had supported her.
