Overwork-linked suicides in Japan have doubled over the past five years
TOKYO — A new government report says the number of Japanese who committed or attempted suicide due to overwork and stress has doubled in the past five years.
The Health Ministry report says 81 people killed themselves or attempted suicide in 2007 - compared with 40 in 2003 - due to work-related problems.
Last year also saw a record 268 people with officially recognized work stress-induced mental illness.
The report says employees in their 30s and 40s were most prone to stress because more companies have introduced a pay-per-performance system in recent years.
Many of the officially recognized work-related suicides were among people working overtime of between 80 and 100 hours per month.
About 10 per cent of them did more than 160 hours of overtime, or an average of five hours extra daily, including weekends.
Under Health Ministry guidelines, relatives of an employee who dies after filing a monthly overtime report of 80 hours or longer are entitled to receive compensation from an employer.
The 81 suicide cases in 2007 classified as work stress-related by the Health Ministry were only a fraction of Japan's total number of suicides.
According to the latest government statistics available, 32,155 people killed themselves in Japan 2006.
The government has launched a series of anti-suicide programs to help those with depression and other mental conditions.
The Canadian Press: Overwork-linked suicides in Japan have doubled over the past five years