Japan karoshi white paper: record 1,082 work-related mental disorder cases recognised
In short
Japan's cabinet on October 9 approved the 2026 White Paper on Measures to Prevent Karoshi, which reports that 1,082 cases of mental disorders were recognised as work-related injuries in fiscal 2025, a record for the seventh consecutive year. The paper finds that such recognitions in the medical sector have roughly tripled over about a decade, with Tokyo Shimbun putting the rise at about 3.6 times.
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The Japanese government's cabinet on October 9 approved the 2026 White Paper on Measures to Prevent Karoshi, which summarises the current state of death and suicide from overwork and the measures the government is taking. According to the white paper, 1,082 cases in which workers developed mental disorders such as depression were recognised as work-related injuries in fiscal 2025. Nippon TV News reported that this was 26 more than in fiscal 2024 and a record for the seventh consecutive year. Recognised cases of brain and heart disease fell by 24 to 217. [ 2 , 3 , 5 , 6 ]
The white paper also examined industries where long working hours are a concern, highlighting the medical sector in particular. TBS NEWS DIG and Nippon TV News described the increase in mental disorder recognitions there as about threefold compared with about a decade earlier. Tokyo Shimbun reported that the yearly average for workers such as doctors and nurses rose from 16.3 cases in fiscal 2012-2014 to 30.7 in fiscal 2018-2020 and 59.3 in fiscal 2021-2023, about 3.6 times the earliest period. [ 2 , 3 , 5 , 6 ]
Tokyo Shimbun reported that experiencing or witnessing a tragic accident or disaster stood out as the leading factor in medical sector cases. Asked about the rise in the medical sector, a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare official said, according to TBS NEWS DIG, that increasing trouble with superiors and customer harassment, in occupations prone to stress, may be one factor. [ 2 , 3 , 5 ]
Construction and motor vehicle drivers such as taxi and bus drivers also showed marked increases, with recent yearly averages of 57.3 and 45.3 cases, according to Tokyo Shimbun. The newspaper said working two weeks or more without a day off and more than 80 hours of overtime a month were also prominent factors. [ 3 , 6 ]
Across all industries, power harassment by superiors, including physical and psychological attacks, was the most common cause of recognised mental disorder cases, Nippon TV News reported. It accounted for 30.3% of cases among teaching staff and 26.5% in the media industry. The ministry said the rise in claims reflects both more people with mental health problems at work and problems coming to light that had previously been hidden, and that measures suited to each industry are needed alongside mental health and harassment measures. [ 2 , 6 ]
Why it matters
The figures show recognitions of work-related mental disorders rising for a seventh year, with power harassment by superiors the most common cause across all industries, according to Nippon TV News. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare said measures suited to conditions in each industry are needed, alongside mental health and harassment measures.
Key facts
- The cabinet approved the 2026 White Paper on Measures to Prevent Karoshi (過労死等防止対策白書) on October 9. [ 2 , 3 , 5 , 6 ]
- 1,082 cases of mental disorders such as depression were recognised as work-related injuries in fiscal 2025, a record for the seventh consecutive year. [ 2 , 5 , 6 ]
- The fiscal 2025 figure was 26 more than in fiscal 2024, Nippon TV News reported. [ 6 ]
- Recognised cases of brain and heart disease fell by 24 from fiscal 2024 to 217. [ 6 ]
- In the medical sector, the yearly average of recognised mental disorder cases rose from 16.3 in fiscal 2012-2014 to 59.3 in fiscal 2021-2023, according to Tokyo Shimbun. [ 3 ]
- Construction and motor vehicle drivers also showed marked increases, with recent yearly averages of 57.3 and 45.3 cases respectively, according to Tokyo Shimbun. [ 3 ]
- Across all industries, power harassment by superiors was the most common cause of recognised mental disorder cases; it accounted for 30.3% of cases among teaching staff and 26.5% in the media industry. [ 6 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The government's cabinet approved this year's karoshi white paper on October 9. [ 2 , 3 , 6 ]
- Work-related mental disorder recognitions reached 1,082 in the latest fiscal year, a record for the seventh straight year. [ 2 , 6 ]
- Mental disorder recognitions in the medical sector have risen about threefold or more compared with about a decade earlier. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 6 ]
- Recognitions also rose markedly in construction and among motor vehicle drivers. [ 3 , 6 ]
Still unclear
- The size of the increase in the medical sector. TBS NEWS DIG and Nippon TV News describe it as about threefold, while Tokyo Shimbun reports about 3.6 times, based on yearly averages of 16.3 and 59.3 cases.
- Why recognitions in the medical sector are rising. A ministry official suggested increasing trouble with superiors and customer harassment may be one factor, while Tokyo Shimbun reported that experiencing or witnessing a tragic accident or disaster stood out as the leading factor in the white paper's data.
- Whether the rise reflects more mental health problems or more problems coming to light. The ministry said both factors are present, according to Nippon TV News, without saying which weighs more.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- TBS NEWS DIG reports the cabinet approval of the karoshi white paper and the record 1,082 recognitions. [ 2 ]
- Tokyo Shimbun reports a rise of more than threefold in medical sector mental disorder recognitions. [ 3 ]
- Nippon TV News reports the white paper's figures on brain and heart disease and on power harassment, and the ministry's call for industry-specific measures. [ 6 ]