Authorities have seen a rise in applications to be labor standards inspectors in the wake of the death of a young female employee of Dentsu Inc. after she worked excessive overtime.
The karōshi (death from overwork) incident at Japan's top ad agency in 2015 shocked the nation and led to the firm's summary indictment in July.
"I once fell sick because of long working hours," a 24-year-old man said after finishing the first round of examinations for the labor standards job in June. "I want to become an inspector so I can protect workers."