By TAKASHI NARAZAKI/ Staff Writer
June 29, 2024 at 14:56 JST
The central government building that houses the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and the Environment Ministry in Tokyo. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Claims for workers’ compensation due to overwork and stress reached a record high of 1,097 in fiscal 2023, up 193 from the previous year.
The latest figures, released June 28 by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, also revealed that power and sexual harassment remain serious problems in the workplace. This was borne out by an increase of 173 in cases involving mental disorders related to such situations.
The number of claims for workers’ compensation based on “brain and heart disease” and “mental disorder,” reached a record high of 4,598, up 1,112 from the previous year.
In fiscal 2023, a record 3,575 workers’ compensation claims were filed under the mental disorder category, and 883 cases, also a record, were approved. Of the approved cases, 79 involved suicide or attempted suicide.
By age group, workers in their 40s accounted for the largest number at 239 cases, followed by those in their 20s at 206 cases, and those in their 30s at 203 cases. Women accounted for 47 percent of cases involving mental disorders.
By cause, power harassment was the most common with 157 cases, followed by sexual harassment in 103 cases. Customer harassment, a new classification in the survey, accounted for 52 cases.
On the other hand, the number of workers’ compensation claims for brain and heart disease reached a record high of 1,023, up 220 from the previous year. Of the 1,023 claims, 214 cases, including 56 deaths, were approved, 20 cases more than in the previous year.
The number of workers’ compensation certifications in the category had been on the decline, but after bottoming out in fiscal 2021 at 172 cases, it then increased for two consecutive years.
Given that brain and heart diseases are more likely to occur as people age, the labor ministry said it believes the increase in the number of elderly people working is having an impact on the rise in industrial accidents.
By age group, people in their 50s accounted for the largest number of workers’ compensation cases at 96, or 45 percent of the total. Those in their 60s and 40s accounted for more than 50 cases, respectively. Those in their 40s and older accounted for 94 percent of the total. More than 90 percent of all cases were male.
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