7 million Japanese could possibly die from overwork

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

7 million Japanese could possibly die from overwork

About 50 family members of victims of karoshi (death from overwork) on July 17 and 18 assembled in Kyoto City to exchange their experiences and views.

The meeting was organized by an Osaka-based group consisting of karoshi victims’ families, their supporters, and lawyers.

In the meeting, Kansai University Professor Morioka Koji delivered a lecture and pointed out that in Japan, seven million workers work more than 60 hours a week and could die anytime from overwork.

Nakahara Noriko’s husband Toshiro, 44-year-old pediatrician, committed suicide because he suffered from depression as a result of overwork. Nakahara reported that a lawsuit she had filed against the hospital where her husband had worked reached a settlement on July 7 in the Supreme Court.

A male participant in his sixties from Hyogo Prefecture who lost his son in his twenties to death from overwork said, “My son’s company seems to me like a vampire sucking young people’s blood. Even though the labor standards inspection office certified my son died from overwork, it can’t bring him back. I want the company to apologize to me.”

A mother whose son in his twenties died due to excessively heavy workloads said, “People of my son’s age have a hard time getting a job with the job shortage, so they tend to push themselves and overwork in order to avoid losing their jobs. Although hard working people are essential for businesses and the society, something is wrong in the current situation of Japan because talented persons collapse from working too hard. It is necessary for our society to establish a system that provides a minimum health and safety standard under which people can live a better life.”

A lawyer of karoshi victims in Osaka said, “Japan is unusual because it has no legislation to prohibit employers from forcing their workers to work excessively long hours. Let’s increase our efforts to achieve the aim of creating a law on regulating overwork.”

- Akahata, July 18 & 19, 2010