A Japanese group of lawyers tackling karōshi, or overwork-related deaths, has protested new Liberal Democratic Party leader Sanae Takaichi's remarks calling on the ruling party's members to "work like workhorses" and declaring that she would "abandon the words 'work-life balance.'"

Takaichi made the remarks in her victory speech after winning the LDP leadership election on Saturday.

On Monday, the National Defense Counsel for Victims of Karoshi issued a statement demanding that she retract her remarks and arguing that her stance "could force workers, including government employees, to overwork and work long hours and could revive an outdated mentality."

The group is led by Hiroshi Kawahito, a lawyer who represented the family of an employee of major advertising agency Dentsu who committed suicide due apparently to overwork.

The family of an internal affairs ministry bureaucrat who killed himself in 2014 also released a statement through their lawyer, expressing outrage at Takaichi's remarks and urging her to deeply reflect on them and apologize to those who have lost their family members due to overwork.

At a news conference on Tuesday, Junko Mihara, minister for children-related policies, stressed that work-life balance is "extremely important."

"I believe she expressed her resolve as (the LDP's) president," Mihara said. At the same time, the minister pointed out that an increasing number of young people are seeking to balance work and family life.