Editing Karoshi (section)

==History==
The first case of karoshi was reported in 1969 with the stroke-related death of a 29-year-old male worker in the [[Freight transport|shipping]] department of [[Japan]]'s largest newspaper company.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.workhealth.org/whatsnew/lpkarosh.html |title=Karoshi-Death from overwork: Occupational health consequences of the Japanese production management|date=February 4, 1997|journal=International Journal of Health Services|author1=Katsuo Nishiyama |author2=Jeffrey V. Johnson |access-date=June 9, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214232217/http://workhealth.org/whatsnew/lpkarosh.html |archive-date=February 14, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Pfeffer |first=Jeffrey |title=Dying for a Paycheck |date=20 March 2018 |isbn=9780062800923 |pages=63, (chapter 5)|publisher=HarperCollins }}</ref>

In 1988, the Labor Force Survey reported that almost one fourth of the male working employees worked over 60 hours per week (equivalent of two-and-a-half days), which is 50% longer than a typical 40-hour (equivalent of over one-day-and-a-half) weekly working schedule. Realizing the seriousness and widespread nature of this emerging problem, a group of lawyers and doctors set up "karoshi hotlines" that are nationally available, dedicating to help those who seek consultation on karoshi-related issues.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Marioka |first=Koji |title=Work Till You Drop |journal=New Labor Forum |volume=13 |issue=1 |year=2004 |pages=80–85 |doi=10.1080/10957960490265782 |jstor=40342456 }}</ref>

Japan's rise from the devastation of [[World War II]] to economic prominence and the huge war reparations they have paid in the post-war decades have been regarded as the trigger for what has been called a new [[epidemic]]. It was recognized that employees cannot work for 12 or more hours a day, 6–7 days a week, year after year, without suffering physically as well as mentally.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/11/business/worldbusiness/11iht-11suits.13624023.html Japanese salarymen fight back] ''The New York Times'' - Wednesday, June 11, 2008</ref><ref name=Pressure>{{cite news | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2009-01-05/recession-puts-more-pressure-on-japans-workers | title=Recession Puts More Pressure on Japan's Workers | work=[[Bloomberg News]] | date=January 5, 2009 | url-access=subscription | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150107010556/http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jan2009/gb2009015_807968.htm | archive-date=January 7, 2015 | url-status=live}}</ref>

In an April 2013 [[International Labour Organization]] article about karoshi,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ilo.org/publications/case-study-karoshi-death-overwork|title=Case Study: Karoshi: Death from overwork|date=23 April 2013|access-date=10 August 2024}}</ref> the following four typical cases of karoshi were mentioned:

# Mr. A worked at a major snack food processing company for as long as 110 hours a week (equivalent of four and a half days) and died from a heart attack at the age of 34. His death was recognized as work-related by the Labour Standards Office.
# Mr. B, a [[bus driver]], whose death was also recognized as work-related, worked 3,000 hours a year (equivalent of four months). He did not have a day off in the 15 days before he had a stroke at the age of 37.
# Mr. C worked in a large printing company in [[Tokyo]] for 4,320 hours a year including [[Shift work|night work]] (equivalent of nearly six months, thus half a year) and died from a stroke at the age of 58. His widow received workers' compensation 14 years after her husband's death.
# Ms. D, a 22-year-old nurse, died from a heart attack after 34 hours of continuous duty five times a month.
As well as physical pressure, [[Stress (biology)|mental stress]] from the workplace can cause karoshi.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2021-04-13 |title=Karoshi - Institutet för språk och folkminnen |url=https://www.isof.se/sprak/nyord/nyord/aktuellt-nyord-2017/2017-11-02-karoshi.html |access-date=2022-03-22 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413102600/https://www.isof.se/sprak/nyord/nyord/aktuellt-nyord-2017/2017-11-02-karoshi.html |archive-date=13 April 2021 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ma |first=Alexandra |title=Japan's toxic culture of overwork drove a 31-year-old woman to death — and it looks like there's no end in sight |url=https://www.insider.com/karoshi-how-overwork-in-japan-killed-miwa-sado-and-hundreds-like-her-2017-10 |access-date=2022-03-23 |website=Insider |language=en-US |quote=Work-related suicides among females and employees under 29 have also risen over the past few years[...]  On Christmas Day 2015, 24-year-old ad agency employee Matsuri Takahashi jumped to her death [...] after working around 100 hours of overtime the month before. Weeks before her death, she posted on social media, according to the Guardian, to say: "I'm physically and mentally shattered" and "I want to die."  On October 11, [...] a 23-year-old construction worker's suicide was karoshi, the Associated Press reported. The [...] man's body was found in the central Japan mountains in April, alongside a note that said he was "physically and mentally pushed to the limit."}}</ref> People who die by [[suicide]] due to mental stress are called ''karōjisatsu'' ({{lang|ja|過労自殺}}).<ref name=":0" /> The ILO also lists some causes of overwork or occupational stress that include the following:
# All-night, late-night or holiday work, both long and excessive hours. During the [[Lost Decades|long-term economic recession]] after the collapse of the bubble economy in the 1980s and 1990s, many companies reduced the number of employees. The total amount of work, however, did not decrease, forcing each employee to work harder.
# Stress accumulated due to frustration at not being able to achieve the goals set by the company. Even in economic recession, companies tended to demand excessive sales efforts from their employees and require them to achieve better results. This increased the psychological burden placed on the employees at work.
# [[Dismissal (employment)|Forced resignation, dismissal]], and [[bullying]]. For example, employees who worked for a company for many years and saw themselves as loyal to the company were suddenly asked to resign because of the need for staff cutbacks.
# Suffering of [[middle management]]. They were often in a position to [[Layoff|lay off]] workers and torn between implementing a corporate restructuring policy and protecting their staff.