Karoshi

[1] The most common medical causes of karoshi deaths are heart attacks and strokes due to stress and malnourishment or fasting.

Mental stress from the workplace can also cause workers to commit suicide in a phenomenon known as karōjisatsu (過労自殺).

[2][3][4][5] The first case of karoshi was reported in 1969 with the stroke-related death of a 29-year-old male worker in the shipping department of Japan's largest newspaper company.

Realizing the seriousness and widespread nature of this emerging problem, a group of lawyers and doctors set up "karoshi hotlines" that are nationally available, dedicating to help those who seek consultation on karoshi-related issues.

[14] This indicated that those who were stressed out by work either did not realize the cause was overwork or were under social pressure to not express it explicitly or to seek help.

This is a new style of career choice for the young Japanese people who want to try out different jobs in order to figure out their own potential.

The program requires communal efforts from the following groups: As a formal response to this proposal, the Industry Safety and Health Act was revised in 2006.

[10] Dozens of large corporations have also implemented "no overtime days", which require employees to leave the office promptly at 5:30 p.m.

In 2008, karoshi again made headlines: a death back in 2006 of a key Toyota engineer who averaged over 80 hours overtime each month was ruled the result of overwork.

[24] This short clip called "The Dangers of Overwork" shows a man who suffered a stroke and was left for three hours before being taken to the hospital.

[24] It was made known that physicians are starting to make people more aware of these health deficits due to overwork.

[26] In Eastern Asian countries, like China, many businessmen work long hours and then feel the pressures of expanding and pleasing their networks.

For example, a businessman named Mr. Pan discussed with John Osburg, an anthropologist who wrote "Anxious Wealth: Money and Morality Among China's New Rich," about his health and the need to continue working.

[30][31] This sparked a national debate with many male CEO's strongly supporting 70-hour workweeks to boost productivity and cover losses due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

[33] In South Korea, the term gwarosa (Korean: 과로사; Hanja: 過勞死; alternatively romanised as kwarosa) is also used to refer to death by overworking.

[36] In Sweden the deaths due to excessive stress at work is expected to increase from the current level in the future.

[2][3] A study conducted with researchers in cooperation with The Swedish work environment authority in 2019 concluded that 720 workers in Sweden already die every year due to stress from engaging in wage labour.