In Japan, the death of a person from overwork is called “karoshi”, and now it is on the rise in the country. According to Reuters: Labor demand, with 1.28 jobs per applicant, is the highest since 1991, which should help Prime Minister Shinzo Abe draw more people into the workforce to counter the effect of a shrinking population, but lax enforcement of labor laws means some businesses are simply squeezing more out of employees, sometimes with tragic consequences. Claims for compensation for karoshi rose to a record high of 1,456 in the year to end-March 2015, according to labor ministry data, with cases concentrated in healthcare, social services, shipping and construction, which are all facing chronic worker shortages. Hiroshi Kawahito, secretary general of the National Defense Counsel for Victims of karoshi, said the real number was probably 10 times higher, as the government is reluctant to recognize such incidents. “The government hosts a lot of symposiums and makes posters about the problem, but this is propaganda,” he said. “The real problem is reducing working hours, and the government is not doing enough.” The labor ministry did not respond to requests for comment. Kawahito, a lawyer who has been dealing with [...]