Japan: Family of young doctor claims working overtime for over 200 hours a month took his life

The family members of a 26-year-old doctor, who committed suicide last year, claimed that work-life imbalance and working more than 200 hours overtime every month took a toll on him as they called for a change in the overwork culture which has plagued the country for years.

Takashima Shingo was posted as a resident doctor at a hospital in Kobe City when he committed suicide last May, as per the public broadcaster NHK.

According to the lawyers of the family, Takashima had to work more than 207 hours of overtime in the month of April and could not take a day off for three months, reported NHK.

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Last week, Hospital Konan Medical Centre refuted the allegations in a press conference. However, in June, the labour inspection body of the government ruled that the man's death was a work-related incident because of prolonged working hours, as per NHK, which also highlighted the immense pressure that health care workers face.

For long, Japan has battled a persistent overwork culture, as employees across different sectors report punishing hours, deference to the company and high pressure from supervisors, as per the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

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The mental health toll and increasing stress have also caused a phenomenon called “karoshi,” or “death by overwork”, which resulted in legislation aimed at preventing injury and death from excessive work hours.

In a press conference last Friday (August 18), the family of Takashima claimed that the young man was driven to desperation and expressed their sorrow over his sudden demise.

'Too hard', complained the man who committed suicide

Before his suicide, his mother Junko Takashima stated that the doctor would complain “it was too hard” and that “no one would help him,” as per a video published by local media of the news conference.

“'No one is looking out for me,' he kept telling me. I think the environment put him over the edge. My son will not become a kind doctor, nor will he be able to save patients and contribute to society,” she stated. “However, I sincerely hope that the working environment for doctors will improveso that the same thing will not happen again in the future," she added.

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The brother of Takashima, speaking at the news conference, said, “No matter how we look at my brother’s work hours, 200 hours (of overtime) is an unbelievable number, and I don’t think the hospital is taking a solid approach to labour management in the first place.”

Last week, the Konan Medical Centre pushed back the allegations in the press conference.

“There are many times when (doctors) spend time studying on their own and sleeping according to their physiological needs. Due to the very high degree of freedom, it is not possible to accurately determine working hours," said a spokesperson.

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