A record 1,181 people filed for workers' compensation in fiscal 2010 due to work-related mental stress, setting an all-time high for the second year in a row, according to the labor ministry.
The figure, released Tuesday, represents a rise of 45 cases from the previous fiscal year, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said. Of the total, 308 workers were recognized as eligible for compensation, up 74 from a year earlier.
"Stress in workplaces has been increasing, with friction associated with interpersonal relations spearheading the trend," said an official of the ministry's section on job-related illness.