GRAMMAR DETAIL

〜を名目に

under the pretext of · in the name of

Indicates that a publicly stated purpose may differ from the actual intention or result.

Examples

研修を名目に、社員へ過度な負担を求めてはいけない。

Employees must not be subjected to excessive burdens under the pretext of training.

安全確認を名目に、必要以上の情報を集めてはいけない。

You must not collect more information than necessary under the pretext of checking safety.

Structure: を名目に follows a stated purpose and presents it as the overt justification, which may differ from the actual intention or result.
Basic usage: 安全確認を名目に、必要以上の情報を集めてはいけない。 warns against using safety checks as a justification for collecting excessive information.

An overt justification versus an actual purpose
- 研修を名目に presents training as a stated justification. Unlike 研修のために, which directly names the purpose, this expression can expose a distance between the justification and the actual conduct.