Japanese had a word for death from overwork but needed a second one for suicide from overwork.
Karōjisatsu (過労自殺) is a Japanese compound of three elements: ka (excessive), rō (labor), and jisatsu (suicide). It refers specifically to suicide caused by the mental and physical toll of overwork. The term emerged in the late 1970s alongside karōshi, which describes death from overwork through cardiovascular failure.1
Where karōshi typically involves strokes and heart attacks triggered by extreme working hours, karōjisatsu describes the endpoint of prolonged occupational stress that leads to depression, anxiety, and ultimately self-harm. Japanese labor compensation law treats the two categories separately, requiring evidence that workplace conditions were the direct cause.2
In 2015, Matsuri Takahashi, a twenty-four-year-old employee at the advertising firm Dentsu, took her own life after logging more than 100 hours of overtime in a single month. Before her death she had posted online that she no longer knew what she was living for.3
A 2024 government white paper reported 883 cases of work-related mental health disorders recognized for compensation, including 79 suicides or attempted suicides attributed to excessive job stress.4
In 2014, the Japanese government passed the Act on Promotion of Preventive Measures against Karoshi and Other Overwork-Related Health Disorders, the first national legislation to formally address both karōshi and karōjisatsu as occupational hazards requiring systemic prevention.2