Despite efforts to reduce overtime hours and workplace harassment in Japan, a record number of workers applied for mental health-related compensation in fiscal 2024, according to health ministry data released Tuesday.
The white paper on death by overwork, or karōshi, showed that 3,780 people reported developing job-related mental health problems and applied for compensation, while 1,055 cases were deemed eligible.
This is nearly triple the figure from 15 years ago, when only 1,181 applications for compensation were filed and 308 were recognized. It was also the sixth consecutive year that the ministry saw record-high numbers of recognized cases.
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