Despite efforts to reduce overtime hours and workplace harassment in Japan, a record number of workers applied for mental health-related compensation in fiscal 2024, according to health ministry data released Tuesday.

The white paper on death by overwork, or °ì²¹°ù¨­²õ³ó¾±, showed that 3,780 people reported developing job-related mental health problems and applied for compensation, while 1,055 cases were deemed eligible.

This is nearly triple the figure from 15 years ago, when only 1,181 applications for compensation were filed and 308 were recognized. It was also the sixth consecutive year that the ministry saw record-high numbers of recognized cases.

The ministry said increased awareness of worker¡¯s compensation is likely to be the main factor behind the rise in mental health cases being filed for and subsequently recognized.

The most common factor behind work-related mental health issues was ¡°relationships with people,¡± with over 60% citing their boss.

The ministry also identified the most common mental stressors by industry between 2012 and 2022.

In the medical field, ¡°having witnessed or experienced a traumatic accident or disaster¡± and ¡°bullying from peers¡± were cited as the most common triggers for developing mental health issues at 35.5% and 27.1%, respectively.

For those in the IT industry, over 40% said their mental distress was caused by a ¡°dramatic change in the content and amount of work they were required to do,¡± while 36.8% of those in the entertainment industry cited the same reason.

Some 21.9% of those in construction work cited severe injuries as causing mental distress, while 33.3% of those in education cited power harassment ¡ª a Japanese term for abuse of authority in workplaces ¡ª and other troubles.

Work-related deaths or illnesses concerning the heart or brain are also eligible for compensation.

The number of applicants seeking compensation for heart or brain failure hit a record high of 1,030, while 241 cases were recognized. Although this is lower than the 338 cases deemed eligible in 2012, recognition has been on an upward trend over the past four years.

Work-related deaths resulting from brain or heart failure decreased from 113 in 2010 to 67 in 2024. Meanwhile, suicides remained around the same level over the years, with 88, in 2024, 99 in 2014 (also the highest), and 65 in 2010.

Improvements to working hours were somewhat successful, according to the report, with the percentage of those working more than 60 hours a week down to 4.6% from the 12.2% in 2003, when the ministry first started keeping records.