By HIROKI HASHIMOTO/ Staff Writer
November 5, 2021 at 17:44 JST
A reinvestigation has determined that a Sagawa Express Co. male employee took his own life in June after suffering continuing power harassment from his bosses, his family's lawyer revealed.
The major distribution company initially concluded in an internal investigation after being tipped off by a whistleblower that no power harassment was occurring.
However, a second investigation after the man's death concluded otherwise, and the company admitted to the fact. In September, company President Masahide Motomura apologized to the employee's bereaved family.
The family’s lawyer held a news conference on Nov. 4, outlining the chain of events.
The lawyer said that the male employee, 39, managed dozens of drivers at a Tokyo office.
Two section chiefs scolded him harshly in front of other employees. They also sent harassing messages to him on an app, such as, “I will find that you are a big liar,” and, “You take others for a fool, don’t you?”
One of the messages also mentioned that he faced a demotion and a transfer.
In April, there was an anonymous whistleblowing complaint made, accusing the two bosses of power harassment.
An internal investigation was conducted, but the company did not interview the employee's subordinates and concluded, “We can’t find any evidence of power harassment.”
Even after that, one of the section chiefs continued to send the employee harassing messages on his days off. The man killed himself in June.
After his death, Sagawa Express asked an outside law firm to investigate the complaint.
“The company ignored the obligation to protect the work environment and allow employees to work safely,” the firm determined.
It added, “The company is liable for negligence in not taking appropriate measures.”
A Sagawa Express representative said, “We recognize that power harassment was one of the causes that led to his death."
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A Sagawa Express Co. employee who killed himself received messages from his bosses such as, “What are you doing in front of a computer the entire day? I cannot help but wonder.” (Provided by lawyer Hiroshi Kawahito)
