Court rejects claim 7-Eleven unjustly ended franchise contract

The Osaka District Court on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit claiming Seven-Eleven Japan Co. unjustly terminated its contract with a convenience store franchisee over his decision to stop late-night operations.Accepting the chain operator's claim that the termination resulted from his improper handling of customers, the court also ordered Mitoshi Matsumoto, the 60-year-old former franchisee, to give up the store and pay damages to the company.Matsumoto, who has spearheaded a campaign among the nation's convenience store owners for shorter opening hours, criticized the court decision and said he…READ FULL ARTICLE