Presiding Judge Ryuji Nakamura of the Himeji branch of the Kobe District, Japan on Monday ordered Mazda Motor to pay about 63 million yen ($7, 71183) in damages to the parents of a former employee who committed suicide in 2007 after working excessive overtime hours and suffering from depression. The Court said Mazda should have taken care of the health of the employee, who was given no support from his boss when his work hours were prolonged due to a spate of difficulties with business clients.
According to the ruling, the former employee who was handling purchase of engine filters from November 2006 developed depression and committed suicide in April 2007 when he was 25, after working long hours of overtime without support from his boss following the work-related troubles. The judge said, ‘‘The work he was doing shortly before committing suicide was excessive from the aspect of both quality and quantity, and the suicide is attributed to work.’‘