CULTURAL FACTORS OF KAROSHI AND KARO-JISATSU

Text topic: Culture and Deviance

Text author: Владимир Ментус

In this paper, cultural factors of overwork death in Japan are examined. The frequency of karoshi (death from overwork) and karo-jisatsu (suicide from overwork) tends to increase. Although these phenomena are somewhat present in other countries, they are the most frequent in Japan, which, for the purpose of explanation, imposes a need for examining its specificities. In literature, these phenomena are most often explained by economic factors. Although the cultural specificities of Japan may also represent important factors of these phenomena, their significance is not recognized. Therefore, some characteristics of the Japanese culture which may be important for overwork death are examined. In this sense, maintaining harmonious relationships with others (within the company) and loyalty (to the company) represent some of the key values of the Japanese (work) culture.