Photo/Illutration The employee wrote down data and information about his job in notebooks. (Provided by bereaved family)

A 29-year-old employee of general contractor Shimizu Corp., whose suicide was recognized as an industrial accident resulting from overwork, likely underreported the hours he clocked due to workplace pressure to reduce overtime.

The man killed himself at a company dormitory in Tokyo in August 2021.

A report by an investigative committee of three lawyers established by Shimizu found that the employee put in more than 100 hours in average monthly overtime during the three months before his death, but manipulated computerized records to give the impression he worked fewer hours.

As a result, Shimizu failed to monitor his grueling work schedule.

In its March 2022 report, the investigative committee suggested that the employee likely underreported the hours worked because his supervisor said employee performance reviews would be linked to the company goal of less overtime.

The Kameido Labor Standards Office in Tokyo’s Koto Ward recognized his death as work-related in May, saying Shimizu had him work beyond statutory working hours.

Death from overwork is known as “karoshi.”

The employee joined Shimizu in 2016 after graduating from the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Engineering, according to his bereaved family.

He was assigned to an office in Koto Ward in 2020 for the construction of sewage treatment facilities. As such, he was responsible for the schedule and coordinating with subcontractors.

At Shimizu, the onus was on employees to report their working hours. The times they logged on and off their individual personal computers were recorded separately. Supervisors checked if there were discrepancies between the two.

But if employees logged in on a common-use computer with their ID after logging on their computers and then logged off the common-use computer, those hours were recorded as log-off time. This allowed employees to continue working on their individual computers without leaving a record.

Of 10 or so employees assigned at the office in Koto Ward, two others also manipulated their computerized working-hour records.

In a document circulated around May 2021, the supervisor asked employees at the Koto Ward office to keep monthly overtime to 45 hours or less for at least four months during the the fiscal year that started in April.

“Please understand that your personnel evaluation will be affected if you fail to follow the company rule,” the supervisor wrote.

Shimizu set up the investigative committee in November 2021 after the employee’s bereaved family demanded to know if the suicide was the result of overwork.

In its report, the committee concluded that long working hours were behind the man’s death. Shimizu apologized to the family and reached a settlement in April 2022.

The Kameido Labor Standards Office instructed Shimizu to take corrective action.

Shimizu said it will take measures to prevent a recurrence.

The company also said it is praying for the repose of the employee’s soul.

The construction industry, as well as the medical and transportation sectors, has a reputation for long working hours.

The employee’s family members called on the construction industry to reform its work practices so such a tragedy will never be repeated.

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