Japanese widow campaigns for overwork law

A Japanese widow is campaigning for new laws to prevent people from working themselves to death, it's been reported.

Mayuni Iwata's husband Takayuki was a general manager working for a chain of pizza restaurants, whose death in 2012 was ruled to be as a result of overwork, Tokyo's Mainichi Daily News reports. According to his wife, he often worked up to 14 hours every day. She has filed a lawsuit demanding the company take responsibility for "forcing" her husband to work long hours for more than 10 years. Now working for an organisation that addresses sudden death through overwork - a concept known as "karoshi" in Japan - she's calling on the government to enact law to prevent further deaths. While a bill was introduced into Japan's Diet last week, Iwata is concerned that it might be delayed. "If enactment of the law is drawn out, the number of victims will increase," she tells the paper.

The proposed Japanese law would require local authorities to enact measures to prevent death from too much work, while employers would be responsible for ensuring the health of workers.

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