Man designing Camry hybrid works self to death

[J e r e M y]

TOKYO, Japan (AP) -- A Japanese labor bureau has ruled that one of Toyota's top car engineers died from working too many hours, the latest in a string of such findings in a nation where extraordinarily long hours for some employees has long been the norm.

The man who died was aged 45 and had been under severe pressure as the lead engineer in developing a hybrid version of Toyota's blockbuster Camry line, said Mikio Mizuno, the lawyer representing his wife. The man's identity is being withheld at the request of his family, who continue to live in Toyota City where the company is based.

In the two months up to his death, the man averaged more than 80 hours of overtime per month, according to Mizuno.

He regularly worked nights and weekends, was frequently sent abroad and was grappling with shipping a model for the pivotal North American International Auto Show in Detroit when he died of ischemic heart disease in January 2006. The man's daughter found his body at their home the day before he was to leave for the United States.

The ruling was handed down June 30 and will allow his family to collect benefits from his work insurance, Mizuno said Wednesday.

An officer at the Aichi Labor Bureau on Wednesday confirmed the ruling, but declined to comment on the record.

In a statement, Toyota Motor Corp. offered its condolences and said it would work to improve monitoring of the health of its workers.

There is an effort in Japan to cut down on deaths from overwork, known as "karoshi." Such deaths have steadily increased since the Health Ministry first recognized the phenomenon in 1987.

Last year, a court in central Japan ordered the government to pay compensation to Hiroko Uchino, the wife of a Toyota employee who collapsed at work and died at age 30 in 2002. She took the case to court after her application to the local labor bureau for compensation was rejected.

Source: www.cnn.com

[mrs.sportivo]

=O

[DANZZT231]

very sad

I was watching a documentary about Japanese work ethics and it is a serious issue. Part of it is culture, as Japanese men carry this sense of pride by working late hours. If he finish earlier, he most probably won't go home but spend some hours outside so he can go back late as usual. This way, the neighbor will view him as a hard working man.

A foreign company in Japan shares one of its method of keeping its workers healthy - by encouraging them to go home when its time. That's right, these workers must be told to go home or else they will work till very late and attend the next day very early. Some very hard working culture there.

But of course it doesn't meant the Japanese likes it, but the pressure from the top management and society's expectations made them work long hours. That is why if you ask many Japanese living abroad like in Australia they much prefer living in Western world, because they are free from such pressure. My Japanese friend would probably sell his soul just to live in Australia.

[doublezero]

Yeah, the Japanese always had a saying "work to your death". I never knew they really did work to their death.

[J e r e M y]

very sad

I was watching a documentary about Japanese work ethics and it is a serious issue. Part of it is culture, as Japanese men carry this sense of pride by working late hours. If he finish earlier, he most probably won't go home but spend some hours outside so he can go back late as usual. This way, the neighbor will view him as a hard working man.

A foreign company in Japan shares one of its method of keeping its workers healthy - by encouraging them to go home when its time. That's right, these workers must be told to go home or else they will work till very late and attend the next day very early. Some very hard working culture there.

But of course it doesn't meant the Japanese likes it, but the pressure from the top management and society's expectations made them work long hours. That is why if you ask many Japanese living abroad like in Australia they much prefer living in Western world, because they are free from such pressure. My Japanese friend would probably sell his soul just to live in Australia.

x2 thats what my Jap frens tell me too! :\