No overtime pay can kill

Long hours: Critics are warning that Japan’s push to take away overtime from high-paid workers will aggravate the situation. — AFP

TOKYO: Japan’s push to take away overtime from high-paid workers has critics warning it will aggravate a problem synonymous with the country’s notoriously long working hours – karoshi, or death from overwork.

Teruyuki Yamashita knows the risks all too well. The now 53-year-old worked day and night in a senior sales job, made countless overseas business trips, and slept an average of just three hours a night.