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Tag - overwork

 
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July 24, 2026
 

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OVERWORK

The number of requests filed in Japan for compensation for work-induced deaths and illnesses rose to a record 6,212 in fiscal 2025, the health ministry said Wednesday.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Science & Health
Jul 15, 2026
Japan logs record compensation payouts for °ì²¹°ù¨­²õ³ó¾± and work-related illnesses
The number of people who received government compensation for death and illnesses related to overwork hit a record 1,310 in fiscal 2025 ¡ª the fourth year in a row with a new high.
Since April 2024, the amount of overtime doctors can perform has been capped at a maximum of 960 hours per year.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
Jul 14, 2026
15% of doctors put in over 960 hours of overtime, health ministry survey finds
The results come despite yearslong efforts to address overwork in the medical industry.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi addresses a May Day event in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2026
Takaichi vows support for wage hikes at May Day event
The prime minister also called for cooperation to achieve ¡°sustained wage hikes that outpace inflation.¡±
Yukimi Takahashi speaks during a news conference in Tokyo in December, held prior to the 10th anniversary of the death of her daughter, Matsuri Takahashi.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society / FOCUS
Apr 1, 2026
Labor officials worry work-style reform progress could backslide
The administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has started discussing a possible easing of working-hour regulations.
A labor ministry survey showed Thursday that 10.5% of workers want to work longer hours, including 0.5% who would want to exceed the 80-hour monthly overtime cap.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Mar 6, 2026
One in 10 Japanese workers want to labor longer, survey shows
Meanwhile, 30.0% hope to reduce their work hours, and 59.5% are satisfied with the status quo, according to the labor ministry survey.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi delivers her policy speech during the House of Representatives plenary session in Tokyo last week.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Politics
Feb 23, 2026
Takaichi expected to scrutinize Japan¡¯s discretionary work system
The system allows employees to work flexibly at their own discretion to improve efficiency, but concerns remain that it could lead to excessive working hours.
Yukimi Takahashi, the mother of Matsuri Takahashi, who died as a result of overwork, speaks to reporters in front of her daughter's portrait in Tokyo on Dec. 5.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Dec 21, 2025
Mother in Dentsu suicide case opposes any easing of labor laws
The mother has spearheaded efforts to prevent °ì²¹°ù¨­²õ³ó¾±, including through speaking engagements at schools and labor unions.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (left) attends a session of the House of Councilors Budget Committee at the Diet in Tokyo on Wednesday.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Politics
Nov 14, 2025
Prime Minister Takaichi says she sleeps only 2-4 hours a night
The revelation about how little she sleeps came after Takaichi raised eyebrows last week by arranging a 3 a.m.?staff meeting in her office to prepare for a parliamentary session.
Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun introduces the Chinese smartphone maker's new electric SUV YU7 at a launch event in Beijing on May 22.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 5, 2025
The human cost of Xiaomi¡¯s rapid pivot from smartphones to EVs
Staff across China¡¯s tech sector complain they spend all their time at the office, with several saying that overwork is prevalent in many top firms.
The most common factor behind work-related mental health issues in Japan is ¡°relationships with people,¡± a government white paper on death by overwork found.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
Oct 28, 2025
Record number of applicants seek compensation for job-related mental stress
Despite efforts to reduce overtime hours and workplace harassment in Japan, a white paper released Tuesday shows the problems remain persistent.
Sanae Takaichi, the newly elected leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, speaks during a news conference after the LDP presidential election in Tokyo on Saturday.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Politics
Oct 8, 2025
Lawyers protest Takaichi¡¯s ¡®work like workhorses¡¯ remarks
The group is led by Hiroshi Kawahito, a lawyer who represented the family of an employee of major advertising agency Dentsu who committed suicide due apparently to overwork.
Japanese teachers work significantly longer hours than their peers in other countries, with time spent on extracurricular activities being a heavy burden, an OECD study shows.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
Oct 7, 2025
Teachers in Japan still work the longest hours, OECD survey finds
Teachers worked an average of over 50 hours per week, but much of it was spent on out-of-classroom work.
A law on teachers' salaries was revised to gradually raise their pay and also help resolve the problem of long working hours, though some lawmakers say it's not enough.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Jun 11, 2025
Japan enacts law to gradually boost teachers¡¯ pay
The revision also requires all prefectural and municipal boards of education to draw up and publish plans to manage teachers¡¯ workloads.
Webcam model Tania Rios looks at a computer screen in Soacha, near Bogota, Colombia, on Dec. 17. Unhealthy rooms, shared sex toys, excessive shifts, clients with degrading requests and harassment ¡ª for years silenced, webcam models are denouncing the abuses they have suffered in Colombia, a mecca of this multimillion dollar business.
WORLD / Society
Jan 28, 2025
Colombian ¡®webcam models¡¯ denounce abuse in online sex industry
Despite their clients being thousands of kilometers away, many webcam sex workers say they have suffered physical and emotional mistreatment.
The government aims to reduce the average monthly overtime of teachers to 30 hours over the five years through the fiscal year beginning April 2029, down from the current 47 hours.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Jan 24, 2025
Japan weighs obligatory programs to cut teacher overtime
Education boards would be required to report on the current work hours of teachers and detail measures to improve their working styles.
The government will raise adjustment allowances for public school teachers, paid instead of overtime, for the first time since the special measures law on salaries of public school teachers came into force in 1972.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Dec 25, 2024
Japan decides on 10% boost to teacher allowances
The hike, expected to start in January 2026, would be the first since the law came into force in 1972.
An expert committee convened by the health ministry has proposed introducing a limit on consecutive workdays.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
Nov 13, 2024
Japan to ban employees from working for 14 consecutive days
Employers are currently required to provide one day off a week, but loopholes mean some employees can work up to 48 days in a row.
Trucks are parked at a convenience store truck stop used by long-distance drivers, in the city of Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture in September.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
Oct 20, 2024
New rules drive Japanese trucking sector to the brink
Despite its importance to the world¡¯s fourth-biggest economy, the trucking industry occupies a weak position in Japan¡¯s economic hierarchy.
An office worker inside a commercial building at night in Tokyo
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
Oct 11, 2024
Widespread overwork and stress found in Japan¡¯s arts and health sectors
In the arts and entertainment sector, over 40% of technical staff and stage directors worked 60 hours or more in a week, a health ministry survey found.
Commuters take a subway home at Sungsu station in Seoul on July 15.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 6, 2024
Declaring ¡®crisis,¡¯ South Korean firms tell managers to work more
In South Korea, the five-day workweek is only a generation old, introduced by labor laws in 2004.
Japan scientists identify clusters of protein believed to trigger Alzheimer¡¯s disease
A team of researchers said they found a ¡°seed¡± that accelerates the amyloid beta accumulation process in the brain, naming it ¡°Peak 1 amyloid beta,¡± as seen in a mouse's brain.
Indian brothers make manga debut in Japan
Two Indian brothers made their manga debut in Japan with "Kung Fu Kung Fool" ¡ª an action-comedy series that follows the adventures of a notorious thief and a young boy.
Japan weighs regulating Pokemon cards amid trading mania
A Pokemon event is held in Jakarta on July 11
Low-income families in Japan cut food and air conditioning during summer break
Yumiko Watanabe, the chairperson of nonprofit Kidsdoor, explains the results of a survey in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on July 1.
Iran strikes on CIA facilities prompt questions about possible Russian role
Iranian drones are displayed in an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on Jan. 13, 2025.U.S. officials have acknowledged that Russia has ?provided targeting ?and other support for Iran in its drone strikes on U.S. targets in the Persian Gulf region.
The sci-fi sensibilities of electronic trio Black Boboi
Black Boboi was formed in 2018 when solo artists Julia Shortreed, Utena Kobayashi and Ermhoi came together under Kobayashi¡¯s newly founded label, Bindividual.
A perfect storm: Kaze Fujii fans flock to Fuji Rock
Okayama-born singer-songwriter Kaze Fujii has carved out a distinctive place in Japanese pop since his major-label debut in 2019.
Can Japanese comedy get laughs in English? Yoshimoto Kogyo lets the jokes rip
Wes-P has millions of followers and his viral clips made him recognizable out of Japan.
The 180-day locals: Life on Japan¡¯s digital nomad visa
Christopher Flinn works remotely from Tokyo earlier this month. Japan issued 646 digital nomad visas in 2025, but tourism officials are hoping to increase that figure in the coming years, with Japan's relatively cheap cost of living and the weak yen seen as potential draws for young professionals.
Japan reveals hint of new defense spending target in fiscal blueprint
The Self-Defense Forces' Type 16 mobile combat vehicle fires during a joint live-fire drill with U.S. Marines as part of the annual Resolute Dragon exercises in Yufu, Oita Prefecture, on June 28.

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