Labor standard inspectors have determined that a Cambodian man working under a government trainee program suffered depression after he was verbally and physically abused by his Japanese co-workers, a union that helped with the 34-year-old's case said Tuesday.
While working as a plumber for a construction company in Tokyo, the trainee's finger was severed by an electric saw, but his employer did not immediately file for public compensation for a work-related accident, according to the union.
The Cambodian man came to Japan in June 2014. His co-workers routinely called him names, including "idiot," and hit him on the helmet, the union said. After he was injured in September 2015, he was sometimes accused of hurting himself on purpose to receive compensation, according to the union.