Explanation of Laws
Karoshi, Death due to Overwork
What is Karoshi?
When people work for long periods of time without breaks, they may suffer from brain or heart diseases, collapse or die, or commit suicide due to mental illness. This is called karoshi (death from overwork) or karoshi suicide.
If you get sick from working long hours
If a worker becomes ill as a result of his/her work, he/she is entitled to compensation under the Workers' Accident Compensation Insurance (as covered by insurance). If the worker dies, his/her family can also be compensated by the insurance.
In most cases, however, it is not clear whether illness is caused by work or not. If it is not acknowledged that work is the cause of illness, you cannot receive workers' compensation insurance.
Please consult a lawyer as soon as possible.
Guideline to determine if work will be recognized as the cause of illness
If you work more than 80 overtime hours per month on average, your illness/injury is more likely to be recognized to be work-related. Also, if you have been under a lot of stress at work, it is more likely for work to be recognized as a cause of illness.
It is not easy to collect evidence of long working hours. In some cases, you may not have any evidence at hand. However,if you consult with a lawyer, you may be able to gather evidence through various means.
Please consult us at the Migrant Worker Research Group.