A legal-aid service involved in stress-related deaths in the workplace will set up a one-day phone-in counseling service in Tokyo, Osaka and 17 other localities in Japan on Saturday to answer inquiries on compensation for work-related deaths and illnesses.

The hotline will be staffed by lawyers who deal with medical and labor law and who specialize in compensation for work-related suicides, deaths and illnesses, the Tokyo-based legal group said.

Hiroshi Kawahito, head of the legal-aid service, said the group plans to draft a policy recommendation based on data from the service and send it to the Labor Ministry, which plans to update compensation standards for work-related deaths and other work stress issues.

"We would like the workplace reality reflected in the standards," Kawahito said.

The Labor Ministry is considering relaxing compensation standards on stress-related deaths and plans to set up an expert panel later this month to look into the issue.

Kawahito's group also conducted a phone-in counseling service in June 1999 and received 206 inquiries.

The group started the hotline service in 1988 and has handled 5,777 cases, Kawahito said.