Catherwood LibraryILR School

In the midst of a skyrocket in overwork-related deaths and suicides in Japan, the president of Dentsu Inc., Japan’s largest advertising agency, was taken to trial over the death of a 24-year old employee who took her own life after being forced to work well over her agreed overtime limit. Toshihiro Yamamoto admitted during this trial that he had a direct role in the young woman’s death through the practices of his company and his negligence in failing to change the way employees are forced to overwork themselves. Dentsu Inc. is notorious throughout Japan for its overworking culture and more than 100 of its employees were found to be working far more overtime hours than they legally should while the company has refused to reform its culture and overtime practices. While, as of now, prosecutors have simply demanded that the company pay a fine, the National Police Agency and the Cabinet Office have made it clear that this phenomenon of death by overwork or other work issues is becoming a serious threat to the public welfare.