Japanese Hybrid Engineer Died from Too Much Work

The Japanese labor bureau has ruled that the cause of death of one of Toyota’s top car engineers was too much work. The engineer, who had been working on hybrid technology, had been under severe pressure while developing the hybrid version of the Toyota Camry. The 45-year-old man had been getting 80 hours of overtime per month in the months leading up to his death.

From The Huffington Post:

He regularly worked nights and weekends, was frequently sent abroad and was grappling with shipping a model for the pivotal North American International Auto Show in Detroit when he died of ischemic heart disease in January 2006. The man’s daughter found his body at their home the day before he was to leave for the United States.

The ruling was handed down June 30 and will allow his family to collect benefits from his work insurance, Mizuno said.

In Japan, death from overwork is common enough to have its own word: karoshi. Working extremely long hours isn’t outside the norm there.

So, be grateful. Many bothans (I mean, Japanese engineers) died to bring us this information (er, hybrid technology).

Link [The Huffington Post]

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