Deadly virtues: Inner-worldly asceticism and karôshi in Japan

Abstract

This article explores the relationship between Japanese workers’ persistent inner-worldly asceticism and today’s globalizing economy. The interplay of values and corporate cultural practices, global market forces and individual health outcomes is illustrated in the case of an Osaka stockbroker killed by overwork (karôshi) during the 1990 Gulf War and resultant collapse of Japan’s ‘bubble economy’. The analysis centres on corporate documents and events which publicly valorized the broker as the embodiment of the ideal employee. The tradition of discipline, dedication and deference that he came to symbolize interacted with inequalities in the global division of labour to produce tragic consequences for him and his family. Viewed through historical, micro and macro lenses, the negative potential of such ascetic work ethics comes into focus. But the analysis also shows how such cases become catalysts for social movements that emphasize the value of care.

Explaining Suicide in Organizations: Durkheim Revisited

“…It is also those selves that are too tightly integrated and regulated by bonds of social solidarity; who suffer from a surfeit of identity with others, rather than a deficit. Too much bonding is a “deadly virtue” (North ) and, thus, can be as negative as too little. Faced with a community that cannot imagine a place in its midst for specific others not like themselves in ways that are taken to be significant, it may be hardly surprising if those specific and stigmatized others seek to imagine an antithetical community that excludes all those perceived as stigmatizing.…”

The phenomenon of death from overwork

“…Inny znany przypadek dotyczył śmierci 26-letniego maklera giełdowego Kameia Shujia, który od stycznia do października 1990 roku pracował ponad 10 godzin dziennie bez dnia wolnego, w firmie Ace Securities był stawiany za przykład. Jego dzień pracy zaczynał się o 6.50 i trwał do 22.00, pracował także w soboty i w niedziele (North, 2011). Wciąż notuje i analizuje się nowe przypadki karoshi: 34-letni pracownik dużej firmy produkującej przekąski zmarł na atak serca (pracował 110 godz.…”

Hope found in lives lost: karoshi and the pursuit of worker rights in Japan

“…To represent their stories and their hopes, we draw on evidence we have collected over more than 25 years of studying the problem and conducting fieldwork among principal members of the anti-karoshi movement (Morioka 2008, Morioka forthcoming;North 1999, North 2011Weathers and North 2009). From observations and interviews of movement participants and karoshi plaintiffs, as well as primary documents and secondary sources concerning key cases, we trace movement influence on the trajectory of reforms to Japan's standards for recognizing and compensating karoshi and karōjisatsu.…”

“…This was structured like a sumo tournament in which teams as well as individuals faced off against each other. When the Tokyo Stock Market crashed due to the Persian Gulf War of 1990, Kamei's efforts to make quota in a bear market were deemed the cause of his fatal heart attack at age 26 (see North 2011). Although the focus of many karoshi cases was simple assessment of the number of hours worked, mental stress due to management manipulations in cases like Kamei's began to draw increased attention.…”