How much time does it take to save a life? Five hours? Five minutes? Five seconds?
According to a government white paper on karōshi (death from overwork) in October 2016, more than 20 percent of companies said monthly overtime per employee exceeded 80 hours, a threshold believed to increase the risk of death. Working more than 100 hours of overtime a month significantly raises that risk.
Matsuri Takahashi, a 24-year-old employee at advertising agency Dentsu Inc., worked 105 hours in a one-month period before jumping to her death from a company dormitory. According to media reports, a labor standards inspection office in Tokyo's Minato Ward determined that overwork pushed Takahashi to take her own life after she suffered a mental breakdown.