Record work-related stress claims in FY2009

A record number of people sought worker's compensation in fiscal 2009 for mental health problems related to job stress.

A labor ministry survey shows that 1,136 people applied for compensation in the year ending March 2010. The claimants said they suffered psychological illnesses such as depression due to excessive workloads, harassment by superiors and other workplace stress.

The figure represents a surge of 209 claimants from the previous record set in 2008. The figure is also more than 5 times the number of a decade ago.

234 of the claimants or their families have been granted compensation. 63 of them committed suicide.

The most common causes cited for work-related mental illness were major changes in job content and workload at 24 percent, exposure to traumatic circumstances or accidents at 16 percent, and excessive working hours at 11 percent.

Meanwhile, there were 293 cases in which compensation was paid for stroke and heart attack caused by overwork. That's down 84 from a year earlier. 106 of the cases involved people who died.