What is Karoshi?

Karoshi (過労死) is a Japanese term that can be translated into “death by overwork.” This isn’t the specific name of a disease, but it refers instead to any occupation-related sudden death such as heart attacks, strokes and even suicides.

Unfortunately, the term “karoshi” was invented in Japan by three doctors who published a book regarding deaths caused by overwork in the country, shortly after the economic bubble peaked.

A brief history of measures to stop karoshi

The first case of karoshi was reported in 1969 with a stroke-related death of a 29-year-old man who worked in the shipping department of NHK, the Japanese public broadcaster. Given the situation of the rising number of cases of karoshi, the government and citizen groups started working together to take measures against the issue. To give some examples, the government amended one labor law and established another to stop overwork. Experts set up “Karoshi Hotline” for those seeking advice and consultation on working environment issues.

What the comparison to other countries tells us

Given that the number of victims remains at the same level despite countless measures taken, it isn’t just a regime but a deeply-rooted culture of peer pressure that makes people overwork. For example, according to the latest government figure, workers took only 56.6% of the annual leave to which they were entitled in 2020. An Expedia survey asked workers from 16 countries the reason they didn’t take paid leave in 2021; Japanese workers answered it was difficult due to being short-staffed while others answered they couldn’t travel because of the pandemic. Moreover, whereas the majority in the U.S. and Europe tend to take overworking as inefficient and unproductive, those in Japan still think people who overwork are hard-working and enthusiastic.

Generation Z to change society

However, this thick cloud seems to be blown away by new air. According to Linkedin, Generation Z values time performance, doesn’t set a company as the center of their life but just one aspect of it, and prioritizes a healthy working environment; all of these values are quite different from previous generations.

Indeed, new legislation and amendments are necessary to transform Japan into a worker-friendly country. However, what we also need may be a change in mindset and solutions to the underlying causes which are complicit in karoshi.