Departments
Intermediate Japanese - Free Online Course
KARŌSHI
過労死
death from overwork
The Japanese word karō / 過労 means “overwork,” and shi / 死 means “death.” The compound word karōshi entered the Japanese lexicon in the late 1980s, when a number of otherwise healthy middle-aged men began dying suddenly from strokes and heart attacks. Invariably the men were salaried office workers and middle managers who were working eighty, ninety, or even one hundred hours per week.
In 1987, chronic overwork was officially recognized as an occupational disease. This allowed the survivors of karōshi victims to file for compensation, though few claimants actually received monetary settlements. “Karōshi hotlines” were set up throughout the country to counsel potential victims and their families.
The karōshi deaths highlighted one negative side of Japan’s economic success. The exact numbers vary from year-to-year, but Japanese generally work about 10% more hours per year than their American counterparts. Japanese workers log as much as 35% more annual time on the job than workers in Europe.
However, it is worth noting that the Japanese are not the world’s most fanatical workers; South Koreans consistently outpace the Japanese in this area, spending even more hours at their jobs.