Dentsu gets small fine for overtime breaches despite outcry

Labour practices at Dentsu, renowned for its hard-driving work culture, came under scrutiny after employee Matsuri Takahashi committed suicide in 2015 at the age of 24. The government later ruled she died of “karoshi” – literally “death by overwork”. 

The case prompted national soul-searching and helped spur government plans for sweeping reforms of labour laws. Even so, the problem of karoshi has once again been thrust into the spotlight this week, with public broadcaster NHK disclosing that a 31-year-old reporter died four years ago of overwork. 

Prosecutors had charged Dentsu for making Takahashi and three others work overtime beyond limits agreed with the company’s labour union between October and December 2015. But current Japanese law only allows for relatively small fines for breaches relating to overtime. 

“We are hoping for legislative change so that stiffer penalties can be imposed when a worker dies,” Takahashi’s mother Yukimi said in a statement after the ruling. “It’s not just my daughter – tragic cases like this are happening throughout Japan, across industries,” she added. 

Matsuri Takahashi had worked 105 hours of overtime in October 2015 after which she fell into depression. She jumped to her death from a company dormitory on Christmas day, leaving behind a trail of public grievances on social media about her relentless working hours and boss’s verbal abuse. “We extend our deepest apologies to stakeholders and the public for the concern we have caused,” Dentsu said in a statement, adding that CEO Toshihiro Yamamoto will take a 20 per cent pay cut for six months. 

Japan had 191 deaths which authorities have ruled as related to overwork in the past financial year - an increase of two over the previous year, the government said.