By KEN SAKAKIBARA/ Staff Writer
December 26, 2019 at 15:35 JST
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications recognized in a workers' compensation case on Dec. 23 that the depression that drove a ministry bureaucrat to commit suicide in 2014 was caused by overwork.
The man, who joined the internal affairs ministry in 2008, worked 168 overtime hours in March 2011 and 178 hours the next month, to deal with the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
In November 2013, he worked 135 hours of overtime and was showing signs of depression that month. The man committed suicide in late March the following year. He was 31.
At a news conference on Dec. 25, lawyer Hiroshi Kawahito, representing the man's bereaved family, said that a paper containing song lyrics found among his possessions testified to what was expected of him when he joined the ministry.
Kawahito said senior bureaucrats sang him a song at the party held to congratulate him after he was hired.
The lyrics say, “I did it. I did it. I waited for questions from lawmakers. I did it. I did it. Surely overwork,” and “two hours of sleep.”
Kawahito said, “The man joined the ministry and was expected to work extremely long hours since he was promised employment.”
The bereaved family, who had not received any explanation from the ministry for five years, filed for workers’ compensation in October.
In an interview with The Asahi Shimbun, a ministry official said, “After the man died, we began investigating, but we could not prepare an accurate and detailed explanation to determine whether compensation can be approved or not.”
The official added, “The procedure was delayed, and we apologize for it.”
The bereaved mother said, “The ministry can find a substitute (for him) in the workplace, but my family can’t find a substitute for my son.”
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