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Increasing workplace harassment blamed for spike in work-related illnesses

28 Comments

A total of 1,409 cases of work-related illnesses were reported in 2013, according to data from the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, 152 more than 2012.

The ministry said incidents of "power" and sexual harassment at workplaces were increasing each year, and emphasized that the real figure could be much higher than the one reported.

TBS quoted a ministry spokesperson as saying that 1,409 is the highest number ever for a one-year period.

In 436 cases, employees were awarded worker's compensation. Of those, the most common cases involved "power harassment" and cases in which workload suddenly skyrocketed but the employees were given no extra compensation to match the increased workload -- in some cases resulting in 160 hours of unpaid overtime a month. Sixty-three suicides were also attributed to overwork, the ministry said.

The number of sexual harassment cases leading to compensation requests also reached a record high with 40 reported cases.

The ministry is planning a seminar for industry management to discuss ways to prevent workplace harassment from happening in the future.

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What? Power tripping harassment in the work place in Japan? Really? This isn't news but the way they go about it and the lack of dealing with it is. The worst case of harassment comes from the back stabbing ones trying to climb the corporate ladder.

11 ( +11 / -0 )

Numbers seem very very low.

17 ( +16 / -0 )

The ministry said incidents of “power” and sexual harassment at workplaces were increasing each year, and emphasized that the real figure could be much higher than the one reported.

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So real figures, the ministry suspecting are way higher....

6 ( +6 / -0 )

There's very little surprising about this at all. Furthermore, Japanese workplace culture and an all-emcompassing focus on the success of the group as a whole, all but encourages not only power harassment (read: bullying), but what should also be viewed as an uncontrolled epidemic of sexual harrassment in the workplace. Make no mistake however. Korosho has been accutely aware of these issued for years, if not decades, and has willingly chosen to ignore them.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Japan is becoming a humanitarian's nightmare... People are just not treated well here, nationals and foreigners alike. It's a struggle from birth.

Of those, the most common cases involved “power harassment” and cases in which workload suddenly skyrocketed but the employees were given no extra compensation to match the increased workload—in some cases resulting in 160 hours of unpaid overtime a month. Sixty-three suicides were also attributed to overwork, the ministry said.

11 ( +13 / -2 )

At the same time one Ministry is reporting these extremely low-ball figures (ones only related to official complaints and procedures), others in the government are trying to find ways to deregulate and weaken labour laws so workers can be more easily fired. Guess this would eliminate the need to use power-harassment as a way to cull the labour force.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Its kinfd of self inflicted. If people said no to certain demands they may not be under such pressure. They are probably afraid of losing their jobs and not being able to support their families. The ironic thing is that they will never be able to support their families in this kind of environment and thus may do the ultimate harm to society by committing suicide.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

This is the result of one of Abe's arrows that changed workplace laws to make it easier to fire people. Many employees are being told to stay until it's finished or don't come back. Unpaid overtime and power harassment have always been issues in Japan and the recent changes to the labor laws gives employers more power to continue the tradition.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Of those, the most common cases involved “power harassment” and cases in which workload suddenly skyrocketed but the employees were given no extra compensation to match the increased workload

Not sure how it works in general industry, but I know of MLC (Japanese workers on the US bases) who use this stunt to pull off up to a year with pay just because they are "stressed." I know of several on first hand experience that have used this, and when I looked at the work environment, there was no power harrasment, or other of the causes. The bottom line was that the person just was too lazy to do the work, and figured out a way to get their full pay for up to 6 monhts, and then ride out the workmens comp until it ran out, basically having a paid vacation for a year. In the meantime, their job is still held open and if filled can only be done so by a temp.

Yes there may be some legit cases, but there are a lot of people who are learning how to rig the system and get what they want.

-7 ( +0 / -7 )

Companies here are essentially a surrogate military, performing many of the same functions once performed by the armed forces of Dai Nippon Teikoku. When Abe and his confreres achieve their wet dream of restoring the military to pride of place, industry will no longer need to fulfill that vacated role.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

When a bucho bowed his head in front of me after saying ayamaru which was after being assigned to a sembetsu for 3 weeks straight, I thought all the ijime and sexual harassment would end there. It seemed it was for 2 months only. He seemed to be a nice single Jguy but no mind of his own. The work was not that easy. Imagine wagging screws and bolts weighing from 13 kgs to 25kgs. each box and doing 3boxes an hour for a minimum of 4hrs then and for 10 hrs at the worst. And the pay was not that good, it was 1000yen being in the night shift and only 840 when I was assigned in the day shift. I understand that the sacho never knew of this until I resigned suddenly. Those who do this are not really after the welfare of the company although most would be saying so. That is why even if I have no personal grudge with any OS or those with fake nikkeijin visas or fake marriage visas, I consider them as a big factor in the sliding down of the job market and making workers competitive. Almost all of them go all the way even with their bodies to the detriment of plain workers like me. They could just have waited for women to fall for them and in that case no matter where they hide I will come looking for them!

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

I imagine the 1400 work-related illnesses and the 63 work related suicides and all the other numbers mentioned are all tips of some giant icebergs.

Shouting and public humiliation is really over the top here. It is one way of getting ppl to work, sure. My question is, is it the only way? Is it an effective way?

dracpoo- Why do you say "becoming"?

4 ( +5 / -1 )

workers need to be empowered with their full rights

4 ( +4 / -0 )

"The ministry is planning a seminar for industry management to discuss ways to prevent workplace harassment from happening in the future."

Here's an idea: ENFORCE the recently made laws which make 'zangyou-sabisu' illegal and arrest the people responsible. Throwing a pittance at the victims who have the courage to come forward, by word or at worst suicide, means absolutely nothing when you've made their lives a living hell in order to try and turn a profit. Given that there are on average 720 hours in a month, and that much of that time is spent working, 160 hours of unpaid overtime is insane. A good friend of mine was justifiably upset when she came to me and confessed that her husband said to her, "I hate this. I want to die." and drinks himself into a stupor if and when he's home, which is not much. He has to work overtime constantly, is never paid for it, and cannot complain or he will be fired. Until society here starts enforcing the laws it makes on lip-service, it is only that, and to the detriment of all but the very, very few who profit.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

june 29,2014 5:00pm--regading power harrasment< Japan is an emtional, as oppsed to intellecgtual,society, where the most ideal type of personality is one dominated by the emotional side of the personality such as giving weight to maintaining the harmony of the group you belong to, rather than to rocking the boat . It is a society where the "who knows whom?" approach works better than the intellectual approach in getting the job done. Japa is so much human redlations values-oriented. Whether your immediateb boss feels you have the right chemistry with him or her might make the diffrence between the absence or the presence of on-the-job bullying. For another, they are cutting corners on labor cost resulting in too much being done by too few and for third the decline in union membership might translate into this, that it is everyone for himself or herself and on his or her own responsibility with none at worksite to turn to for help.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Let me tell you, this is only the very tip of the iceberg. This is an ugly side to Japan that has been kept under wraps for decades.

2 ( +3 / -0 )

My husband is Japanese working for a Japanese company, he works overtime a lot but it is paid--we realize many others are not so lucky. I think the company's "training" method of shouting, slamming hands on desks/walls etc. is stupid but my husband thinks it's par for the course and doesn't take it personally, a more sensitive soul would suffer I think.

The Japanese have made a funiki, an atmosphere that says you work HARD and give your life to the company, someone who can't do that is called "weak" or "unfit for adult society" no one wants that label, resulting in folks who try too hard and get utsubyo depression or health problems.

As the population ages, the number of workers will decrease, putting a heavier and heavier burden on young workers to maintain the Japanese economic status in the world. It isn't sustainable. The work ethic that brought about post-war prosperity and materialism will do this country in if Japanese people aren't careful. A snake slowly eating its own tail.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Japanese citizen #1: "Are the zainichi Koreans to blame for this, too?" Japanese citizen #2: "Why, of course! Everyone (in Japan only) knows it's the Koreans who are responsible for ALL the crimes committed in Japan, except for the ones committed by the Chinese! The Honorable Japanese do not commit crimes!" Japanese citizen #1 "Ha ha, of course, how silly of me! Japan may have a way worse record for human sex slave trafficking than South Korea and even the USA, but we should still go on calling South Korea the prostitution capital of the world just on principal, because we know Japan is superior to Korea in every way, every day!"

-6 ( +2 / -8 )

I myself is the victim of POWER harrasment done by managers in a Top notch Japanese firm. They denied overtime pay under the name of Employee will not get any overtime. Even they manipulated my working hours. They called me on my personal mobile number at midnight so many times that I disconnected my number. So many times at 9 PM when I about to leave office, my xxxxx manager jumped in and asked me to attend meetings till 10:30 PM. When I started resisting him, within a month a star performer becomes a under performer and after two month I got my pink slip, and a guard took me to main gate for final goodbye. After 3 days they called me and ask me to sign documents and threatened me with that they will mark everything RED so that I will not get any Job again in Japan. HR (a bitch) told me that her boyfriend is having a big body tatoo.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Nothing's going to change here, folks, and this is only going to get worse as Abe aims his so-called third arrow directly in front of his feet and refuses to look up. Him putting the breaks on easing visa restrictions on anyone but white-collar workers while ensuring those with one-year visas or the like are easily and quickly turn-over will ensure that the regular work force be subject to overtime and expected to suck it up without any compensation despite laws to the contrary. How, at a time when many Japanese companies are becoming second to Korean or other nations' companies (ex. Samsung -- sorry, nigelboy, but it's true!), are they going to possibly decrease working times or pay more for overtime while they bar the doors on people who can come in and work?

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

just realized recently that people here are actually working in hard conditions, especially blue collar workers. working just as machines, those in factories, logistics and in supply chains, constructions, and the likes..the PM on the other hand is just increasing sales tax (putting more pressure not only on such said people but victims of the Fukushima crises), cut corporate taxes, making more money for white collars or those corporations as Toyota (very few top), etc..even in the school systems, i can see that most systems or curriculums are quite outdated as well, approaches, etc...well, perhaps we just have to hope for when the next election will be...hope that this regime end soon..

0 ( +0 / -0 )

These numbers are clearly some sick joke, there are likely blocks in Tokyo that could accommodate these numbers, clearly whats below the waterline is way way way way way bigger then the average ice berg!!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@souka, contrary to your assertion, this problem is not because of PM Abe. Why do we have to blame the Prime Minister when most of these problems are made by middle ranking officials of companies or factories! Of course there are small time sachos who did this hence such companies never grow big. In my case it was the bucho in cohorts with another gloating with jealousy for nothing. In fairness to PM Abe, he is working hard to turn around Jeconomy and the result can never be seen overnight.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@trinkets2, i probably think that u'r one of those voting for Abe or LDP in the first place, i agree that change cannot be seen overnight,,but the trend that is quite clear until now and that can help to forecast future trends is that the LDP administration seems to listen more to large corporations and influential rich people at the top, fortunate few (and u probably one of them)! i still cannot see whether he is listening to the scream of the average voter. maybe u can give us examples on how he is heading toward that so far.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

dracpoo2Jun. 29, 2014 - 08:23AM JST

Japan is becoming a humanitarian's nightmare... People are just not treated well here, nationals and foreigners alike. It's a struggle from birth.

well said

0 ( +1 / -1 )

People are just not treated well here, nationals and foreigners alike. It's a struggle from birth.

I've always felt well treated here.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Being treated fair and square here, and not being compensated for your hard work are TWO different things !!

0 ( +1 / -1 )

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