TV Schedule

Dead at 45 - Toyota Motor Company Japan works employee to death!

  2. jubal
  3. related topics
A Japanese labor bureau has ruled that one of Toyota's top car engineers died from working too many hours, the latest in a string of such findings in a nation where extraordinarily long hours for some employees has long been the norm.

The man who died was aged 45 and had been under severe pressure as the lead engineer in developing a hybrid version of Toyota's blockbuster Camry line, said Mikio Mizuno, the lawyer representing his wife. The man's identity is being withheld at the request of his family, who continue to live in Toyota City where the company is based.

In the two months up to his death, the man averaged more than 80 hours of overtime per month, according to Mizuno.
jubal

13 responses // Dead at 45 - Toyota Motor Company Japan works employee to death!

  • Dedication can have it's limits.
    Kynmore
  • The sad part is working to death actually has a verb in the Japanese language.

    karoshi - to work to death.

    totemo Kanashii - very sad.
    RonTayan
  • Dedication to hard work is considered a major virtue in Japan, but it can definitely be taken too far. More Japanese companies should encourage their hardest-working employees to take more time for relaxation.
    Allsunday
  • How sad :( I hope Toyota take care of his family for the rest of their lives.
    Elligirl
  • Apparently they are being ordered to pay a settlement to the family.
    jubal
  • no wonder suicide in japan is a sub-culture . i'd rather kill myself any-day than be worked to death .
    malathion
  • it's a very sad thing, but in japan, this is probably thought of as an honorable death.

    one thing i like about America is that this is thought of as stupid. no one except your family is gonna care if you literally give your life for the company.
    timunuhe
  • An unfortunate reinforcement of the partly true stereotype that the Japanese are suicidal maniacs...
    Dmitri_Molotov
    1 response to this
  • That was happening a lot in Japan in the 80's. I think it's because their culture is based more on Confusianism, in which your government and your employer are more important than your family.
    flyingkick
    1 response to this
  • my gran always used to say that "a little hard work never killed anyone".
    teddy14
  • Hence the 80's movie Gung Ho with Michael Keaton. Funny movie.
    pennydaisy

Add your response

Login/Registration is required to add a response.