Suicide notes reveal overwork risk

TOKYO: “Don’t go to work” reads a poem written by a Japanese boy for his father who killed himself after suffering from depression caused by working too much.

“Dad, I am no good,” wrote a young Japanese engineer who committed suicide because he could no longer cope with work. The letters are part of an exhibition in Tokyo organised by a mental health organisation to highlight the risk of “karoshi,” or death from overwork, in a society that treasures hard work.

Titled “Inside me, you are alive now,” the exhibition collects suicide notes, poems and testimonies from “karoshi” victims and their families. Japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the world: more than 30,000 suicides every year since 1998. Last year, five times more people killed themselves than died in traffic accidents.

But less is known about the role of work in those suicides. A Health Ministry report last year notes a strong link between depression and habitual overwork of 80 hours or more over a few months.

According to the ministry, 81 suicides were approved for work-related compensation last year, up 50% from 2003.

The author of the “Don’t go to work” exhibit was seven years old when his father died. In his poem, he dreamed of creating a time machine to rescue his father. The engineer, Hiroto Komatsu, who worked for a car manufacturer, jumped to death from the company building.

In the month before his death, he worked a total of 315 hours, including 144 hours of overtime. Komatsu’s mother recalls her son would sleep on the floor  for fear he would oversleep and be late for work if he went to bed. “Things are getting worse compared to 20 years ago,” said the organiser of the exhibition, Tatsuhiko Ifuku.

Most say death was the only way out of their agony and express their love and remorse to their families.