Japan’s first government white paper on the still largely taboo phenomenon of “death by overwork” has revealed that a fifth of surveyed companies acknowledge their full-time staff works dangerously long hours.
The 280-page report — published almost three decades after Japan legally recognised death driven by overwork, known as karoshi — acknowledged that its contents made for bleak reading.
Nearly 11 per cent of companies surveyed said they had full-time staff working at least 80 hours of overtime a month — a level which, by official acknowledgment, brings an increased risk of death from cardiovascular issues and other problems. Almost 12 per cent of companies surveyed said they had staff working more than 100 hours of overtime a month.