Photo/Illutration Yukimi Takahashi with her daughter, Matsuri, at the top of Mount Kintokizan in the Hakone resort in Kanagawa Prefecture in 2011, when Matsuri was a university sophomore (Provided by Yukimi Takahashi)

Yukimi Takahashi warned against moves that could condone longer working hours ahead of the 10th anniversary of the suicide of her overworked daughter.

“At a time when ‘karoshi’ (deaths from overwork) are increasing, if measures are taken that would roll back work-style reforms, we bereaved families can never accept it,” Takahashi told a news conference on Dec. 24.

Her daughter, Matsuri, killed herself on Dec. 25, 2015, when she was a new employee at advertising giant Dentsu Inc. She was 24.

The tragedy was one of the catalysts for the passage of work-style reform legislation in 2018, which introduced caps on overtime hours.

However, calls have grown within the government and ruling parties for relaxing working hour regulations amid labor shortages.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who took office in October, has ordered a review of the restrictions.

The Council for Japan’s Growth Strategy, newly established by the Takaichi administration, decided on Dec. 24 to set up a labor market reform subcommittee that will revisit work-style reforms.

The subcommittee will include labor and management representatives.

Some argue that overtime caps prevent people who want to work more from doing so.

Takahashi countered that those making such claims should first conduct a survey to find out how many people want to work up to the “karoshi line,” referring to the overtime threshold for increased risk of death from overwork.

“You can become ill without realizing it,” she said. “I want people to understand that is what karoshi is.”

Takahashi, who has campaigned for eradicating karoshi, has released a personal note each year on the anniversary of Matsuri’s death.

But she said she decided to meet with reporters ahead of the 10-year mark, fearing waning public interest in the karoshi issue.

“The past 10 years have been truly painful,” Takahashi said, reflecting on the persistently high numbers of deaths and suicides from overwork. “And yet, we have not been able to prevent karoshi. It is heartbreaking beyond words.”

Lawyer Hiroshi Kawahito, who joined her at the news conference, said, “As we approach the death anniversary, we want to renew our resolve to ensure that the sacrifices of workers who have lost their lives or health in workplaces are never repeated.”

In a personal note released on Dec. 24, Takahashi again appealed to society to continue efforts to eradicate karoshi.

“‘Work must never take a person’s life.’ I believe the entire nation once realized this simple truth through Matsuri’s death,” she said. “Please, do not let there be more victims of overwork like Matsuri. Do not let more people lose loved ones as I have.”

The note begins with the words, “This Christmas marks the 10th year without Matsuri.”

“No matter how many seasons have come and gone over the 10 long years, my time remains frozen on that day,” Takahashi wrote.

Touching on the fateful day, she noted, “I never imagined that I would be going to see Matsuri, cold and lifeless, 10 days after she had taken me out for a meal.”

The mother described her grief by saying, “With each passing year, I picture the life Matsuri should have lived here, and my suffering only deepens.”

Takahashi concluded her note with a vow to continue to devote herself to eradicating karoshi “so that the future Matsuri could not live to see will be a bright one.”

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