On December 25, 2015, a young female worker named Matsuri Takahashi died by suicide, jumping from her company dormitory after working extensive overtime hours. Prior to her death, Takahashi had posted several disturbing messages to social media; according to her friends, she was only getting roughly two hours of sleep every night.
Cases like Takahashi's, where overworked employees die of suicide or major health issues, are referred to as "karoshi" cases. Since the first reported case of karoshi in 1969, several changes have been made to the Japanese workspace. Despite these implementations, this issue still significantly plagues Japanese society.
