Overworked victims’ families protest against Japan PM’s work-focused remark as 2025 catchphrase
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Ms Sanae Takaichi had said, “I will work, work, work, work and work”, after being chosen as the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party’s leader.
PHOTO: AFP
TOKYO – Families of victims of “karoshi”, or death from overwork, on Dec 11 protested against the recent selection of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark emphasising work as 2025’s catchphrase, saying the choice hurt their feelings and exacerbated their pain.
Ms Takaichi declared, “I will work, work, work, work and work”, in comments made shortly after being chosen as leader of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
The phrase topped 2025’s buzzword list but has drawn criticism from various groups, including labour unions, as well as from some fellow lawmakers.
Ms Noriko Nakahara, who lost her paediatrician husband to overwork, and co-heads a group of “karoshi” victims, said she was “stunned” when she learned that the Japanese Prime Minister had won the award.
“It came as the biggest insult to the bereaved families, and we were deeply hurt,” Ms Nakahara said at a press conference.
Ms Takaichi, who became the country’s first female prime minister after repeated attempts, also said: “I will have everyone work like a workhorse.”
Hearing those words, Ms Nakahara said she was reminded of her late husband, who said: “I will be killed by the hospital as it makes me work like a workhorse.”
She said: “I trembled with rage.”
Some comments from family members of karoshi victims were made public during the press conference.
One said the awarding “seems to praise a work style that can take someone’s life”.
Ms Takaichi, for her part, explained that when she received the award in early December, she had “no intention of encouraging overwork or to suggest that working long hours is a virtue”. KYODO NEWS
