Osaka High Court rules that part-lecturers that request permanent employment after 5 years of contracts can get it; four English and Japanese language lecturers reinstated at jobs at Osaka University with back pay

This seems very impactful, but I can’t tell if it will be positive or negative. There is a large number of teachers who have worked part-time for well more than 5 years. Can they all request permanent employment now? If this is the case, that’s great for them (if they want it), but won’t it lead to future part-time teachers being fired after 4 years causing desperate searches for new employment every hiring period for teachers in the shuffle?

Wasn’t this always the rule?

I have one at a small university in Kobe and the student numbers have decreased so my classes have decreased .. permanent but not absolute

The title is misleading due to two similar terms. This is not permanent employment in the normal sense but indefinite employment (無期雇用) which is very different from being a regular permanent employee (正社員) which can include guaranteed salary rates, pension status, tenure, office space, etc.

It does, however, give the teachers much greater stability and an expectation for a certain amount of work each year as standard. On the university side, this reduces their ability to adjust their workforce as needed or to easily replace poor-performing teachers. To do so now the will likely have to be able to show pressing economic or disciplinary reasons to justify it legally. So, expect many universities to become more pedantic over minor issues so they can create a paper-trail allowing them to take action against people they deem a ‘bad fit’.