Workplace conflicts drive Japan’s surge in mental health compensation claims

Efforts to curb excessive working hours and workplace harassment in Japan have yet to ease the nation’s growing mental health crisis. According to a white paper on karoshi—death by overwork—released by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, a record 3,780 employees filed for mental health-related compensation in fiscal 2024, marking the sixth consecutive year of record-high claims.

Of these, 1,055 cases were approved for compensation, nearly triple the 308 recognised cases reported 15 years ago. The ministry attributed the rise largely to greater awareness of employees’ compensation schemes and a broader understanding of mental health issues among employees and employers.

However, the report also highlighted persistent workplace pressures. More than 60% of employees cited strained “relationships with people” as the leading cause of mental distress, most commonly involving conflicts with supervisors.

The ministry’s data, covering the period from 2012 to 2022, underscored the differing stressors across sectors. In the medical field, 35.5% of employees who developed mental health conditions said they had witnessed or experienced traumatic incidents, while 27.1% cited bullying by colleagues.

In the IT and entertainment industries, over 40% and 36.8% of respondents, respectively, pointed to “dramatic changes in workload or responsibilities” as key contributors to mental distress. Among construction workers, 21.9% linked their mental health struggles to severe injuries, while a third of educators (33.3%) cited power harassment—abuse of authority or intimidation by superiors—as a major source of stress.

READ MORE: Japan clamps down on debilitating overworked culture

The white paper also reported a record 1,030 applications for compensation related to heart or brain illnesses caused by overwork, with 241 cases approved. While the number of recognised cases remained below the 2012 peak of 338, the ministry noted an upward trend over the past four years.

Work-related deaths caused by brain or heart failure fell from 113 in 2010 to 67 in 2024, suggesting some progress in reducing extreme overwork fatalities. However, suicides linked to workplace stress have remained stubbornly consistent, with 88 recorded in 2024—little change from 99 in 2014 and 65 in 2010.

Despite rising claims, Japan’s long-standing culture of overwork has shown gradual improvement in recent years. The proportion of employees working more than 60 hours per week has dropped to 4.6% sharply from 12.2% in 2003 when the ministry began tracking the data, reported The Japan Times.