Japan
Journal of Business Ethics (2009) 84:209–216 DOI 10.1007/s10551-008-9701-8
Ó Springer 2008
‘‘Karoshi (Work to Death)’’ in Japan
Atsuko Kanai
ABSTRACT. Since the collapse of Japan’s bubble economy in the early 1990’s, the Japanese economy has only recovered slightly. This has direct implications for employment. Both the seniority wage system and the lifetime employment system, which were popular during the period of economic growth in Japan, unavoidably changed to an outcome-wage system. Now there is greater mobility in employment, increased use of nonregular employees, and diversed working patterns. The problem of karoshi – a potentially fatal syndrome resulting from long work hours – has been known since the early 1980s. This problem has become more serious in recent years. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the economic and employment conditions in Japan, as well as to examine the working lifestyle of Japanese men and its connection to ‘‘karoshi.’’ It is argued that (1) the long work hours are not the preference of individuals, but rather the result of the adaptation to the work environment, and; (2) solving this problem requires re-conceptualization of workers’ human rights on the part of both companies and the society as a whole. KEY WORDS: karoshi (work to death), karo-jisatsu (suicide by overwork), white-collar exemption, Japanese male workers
‘‘Karoshi’’ in Japan Karoshi is one of the consequences of working long hours, deteriorating an employee’s health. This term first appeared in the early 1980s, right before Japan entered into the so-called bubble economy. It was defined as a ‘‘condition of being permanently unable to work or dead due to acutely attacking ischemic heart disease such as myocardial infraction, or acute heart failure caused by cerebral vascular diseases such as cerebral hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage and cerebral infraction, because inherent health problems such as hypertension and arteriosclerosis
Ó Springer 2008
‘‘Karoshi (Work to Death)’’ in Japan
Atsuko Kanai
ABSTRACT. Since the collapse of Japan’s bubble economy in the early 1990’s, the Japanese economy has only recovered slightly. This has direct implications for employment. Both the seniority wage system and the lifetime employment system, which were popular during the period of economic growth in Japan, unavoidably changed to an outcome-wage system. Now there is greater mobility in employment, increased use of nonregular employees, and diversed working patterns. The problem of karoshi – a potentially fatal syndrome resulting from long work hours – has been known since the early 1980s. This problem has become more serious in recent years. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the economic and employment conditions in Japan, as well as to examine the working lifestyle of Japanese men and its connection to ‘‘karoshi.’’ It is argued that (1) the long work hours are not the preference of individuals, but rather the result of the adaptation to the work environment, and; (2) solving this problem requires re-conceptualization of workers’ human rights on the part of both companies and the society as a whole. KEY WORDS: karoshi (work to death), karo-jisatsu (suicide by overwork), white-collar exemption, Japanese male workers
‘‘Karoshi’’ in Japan Karoshi is one of the consequences of working long hours, deteriorating an employee’s health. This term first appeared in the early 1980s, right before Japan entered into the so-called bubble economy. It was defined as a ‘‘condition of being permanently unable to work or dead due to acutely attacking ischemic heart disease such as myocardial infraction, or acute heart failure caused by cerebral vascular diseases such as cerebral hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage and cerebral infraction, because inherent health problems such as hypertension and arteriosclerosis