1 in 3 Art, Showbiz Workers in Japan May Be at Risk of Overwork Death

Tokyo, Oct. 11 (Jiji Press)--About one in three workers in the art and show business industry in Japan were bound to their workplaces for at least 60 hours a week, the threshold for certifying "karoshi," or death from overwork, in the country, last year, a government survey showed Friday.

The proportion of such workers stood at 35.2 pct, according to the survey published in the 2024 white paper on measures to prevent death from overwork, which was adopted at the day's cabinet meeting. While a simple comparison is not possible, the share of employees in all industries whose actual working hours reached 60 hours or more a week came to only 5.5 pct.

The government conducted the survey in October-December last year, covering 488 individuals working in the art and show business sector, including directors, technical staff and editors.

Of them, 42.0 pct said that they were hurt by remarks made by colleagues and others at work. The proportion of those who said they were hit, kicked or yelled at by work-related people came to 22.3 pct.

The survey also found that 51.0 pct of the respondents were not notified of the amount of their pay before they accepted an offer of work.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]