5 Cruel Facts of Karoshi in Japan, People Dying from Overwork

VIVA – Japan is one of the most developed countries in Asia. Japanese people are known as workaholics. It's familiar if many people scream in the middle of the street because of work.

In Japan, there is one cruel phenomenon, namely Karoshi. Karoshi is a situation where someone feels exhausted to the point of death due to work. Karoshi consists of three words, namely Ka means more, Rou means work, and Shi means death.

So, Karoshi is a death caused by overwork. The phenomenon of karoshi in Japan has become a very hot issue in recent years. The Japan's Government is doing several ways so that this does not continue to happen.

Well, here are some cruel facts about Karoshi in Japan.

1. The First Karoshi Case in 1969

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Karoshi, warga Jepang meninggal akibat kerja berlebihan.

Photo :

• U-Report

Karoshi first happened in 1969. At that time, a 29-year-old man, already married, worked in the largest mail delivery department in Japan.

He died as a result of the attack on his office. The Workers' Compensation Bureau of the Japanese Ministry of Manpower considered that overwork was the cause of the man's death.

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Ilustrasi kelelahan(shutterstock)

Photo :

• vstory

Many things cause workers in Japan to be willing to work very hard. They are usually afraid of being fired if they do not work optimally.

As a result, workers work more to look productive in front of their superiors. By being more productive they hope to get a raise or a higher career. Unfortunately, many do not care anymore about the health factor.

Worse, the company does not provide an imbalance through the sacrifices of the employees. Some are willing to do overtime even though they are not paid in the end.

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Ilustrasi kelelahan.

Photo :

• U-Report

In the years that followed, karoshi became an increasingly recognized phenomenon in Japan, especially among white ape workers or the so-called "salary men". The causes of karoshi are usually heart attacks and strokes.

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Ilustrasi kelelahan

Photo :

• U-Report

Japanese residents who have family members who died because of Karoshi can apply for compensation from the company where the person works. The Japanese government has set parameters for people who died from Karoshi phenomenon.

In the case of suicide, a person can claim karoshi compensation if the victim worked at least 160 hours of overtime in one month or more than 100 hours for three consecutive months.

To solve problems like this, the Japanese government. Usually, in one month, it can only be up to a maximum of 30 hours.

In addition to what the government has done, major automotive companies in Japan have also begun to pay attention to the health of their employees. They tell workers to leave earlier if they have small children at home. This strategy has shown to reduce karoshi numbers, although not significantly.

Halaman Selanjutnya

He died as a result of the attack on his office. The Workers' Compensation Bureau of the Japanese Ministry of Manpower considered that overwork was the cause of the man's death.