In its latest session the Diet enacted a law that requires the central government to take measures to prevent deaths resulting from overwork, including suicides. These problems have long been a serious issue in Japanese society, and the legislation won unanimous support of all the parties in both chambers. But the law fails to set down concrete rules to prevent overwork and does not provide punishment for businesses that subject their workers to extremely long work hours.

As a first step, the government should make the steps it has to take under the new law as effective as possible. They include conducting studies into the realities of overwork-induced deaths and beefing up counseling services for workers subjected to overwork and their families, as well as increasing support for nongovernmental organizations dealing with various problems resulting from overwork.

According to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, a record 1,409 people applied for workers' accidents compensation in fiscal 2013 for mental illnesses such as depression suffered as a result of overwork — 152 more than in the previous yea — and 436 of them were awarded compensation, the second-largest number since the ministry started taking such a survey in 1983. Of those awarded compensation, 63 had either committed or attempted suicide. Factors that triggered the mental illnesses included power harassment, sexual harassment and bullying at workplaces.