A court ordered advertising giant Dentsu Inc. on Friday to pay ¥500,000 ($4,400) for labor practice violations, which resulted in the suicide of a new recruit due to excessive working hours.
"Illegal long working hours were becoming the norm" at Dentsu, Tokyo Summary Court Judge Tsutomu Kikuchi said.
"It cannot be overlooked" that the practice led to the death of 24-year-old Matsuri Takahashi in December 2015, the court's ruling noted.