Japan Press Weekly

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2015 September 16 - 29 [LABOR]

English conversation school operator sued for worker’s overwork-induced suicide

A company operating English conversation schools across Japan has faced a lawsuit brought by the parents of a female worker who killed herself at the age of 22 due to excessive overtime work only three months after she joined the company.

In the lawsuit which was filed on September 14 with the Osaka District Court, the plaintiffs are demanding payment of about 91 million yen in compensation.

The woman in March 2011, after graduating from university, entered Amity Corporation which runs English conversation schools geared toward children. She was assigned to a school in Kanazawa City (Ishikawa Pref.) as an instructor. After three months, she committed suicide.

According to the document filed to the court, the woman had to work overtime even at home to finish heavy tasks, including preparation of teaching materials. She worked more than 114 hours overtime a month on average before her death. She also experienced power harassment from her boss, such as being yelled at with the use of abusive language.

The Kanazawa Labor Standards Inspection Office in May 2014 acknowledged her death as work-related.