Tokyo, Oct. 9 (Jiji Press)–Japan has seen a surge in approved compensation claims by medical workers for work-related mental disorders, a government white paper showed Friday. The annual report on measures to prevent death from overwork, endorsed at a cabinet meeting, highlights the impact of traumatic disaster experiences and harassment by patients as contributing factors, indicating a need for urgent countermeasures. In the report, the government analyzed changes in the number of mental disorder cases among medical workers recognized to be related to work and thus eligible for compensation under public insurance every three years from fiscal 2012. The data from fiscal 2021 to fiscal 2023 show an annual average of 59.3 cases, up 3.6-fold from the 16.3 cases for fiscal 2012 to fiscal 2014. The most common factor over the entire survey period was “experiences or sightings of tragic accidents or disasters.” In fiscal 2025, interpersonal relationships emerged as the leading factor for work-related mental disorders in the medical and welfare service industry, apparently reflecting problems with service users and supervisors. The white paper also surveyed taxi and bus drivers affected by harassment by customers. About 40 pct of taxi drivers and 30 pct of bus drivers reported experiencing such harassment, showing a stronger tendency to display what are suspected to be symptoms of depression or anxiety disorder. The government annually releases the white paper under the law to promote measures to prevent death and injury from overwork. The latest version is the 11th edition. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
