Karoshi (death from overwork) hotline

"My husband collapsed from cerebral breeding due to an excessive workload without holidays."

On June 19, phones kept ringing all day at "karoshi" (death from overwork) call centers set up in 31 prefectures.

Lawyers from the "KAROSHI Hotline National Network" received 199 calls from workers and family members seeking counseling.

Calls concerning deaths, sick leaves, and work-related accidents topped 92, which included 44 cases of brain and heart diseases, 25 suicides, and 18 mental diseases. Eighty-nine callers asked for advice regarding how to prevent "karoshi" or excessive workloads.

Not only workers involved but also many family members called in to express their concern about their husband or son being forced to work too much.

A family member of a truck driver said, "He had to drive back and forth 936 kilometers between Osaka and Miyazaki three times without a day off. While loading cargo onto his truck, he collapsed and died from a heart attack."

A family member of a managerial worker of a distribution company said, "Leaving home at six in the morning and coming home after midnight everyday, he looks pale. What should I do?"

"Working until the early hours of the morning, he may die from overwork," a family member of a laboratory employee said.

"I usually managed to come home on the last train, but couldn't come home at all when the deadline for deliveries approached. I don't receive medical treatment for depression now," a systems engineer said.

A KAROSHI Hotline National Network representative said, "There were many very serious consultations as usual. We must do something to prevent karoshi." (end)