Death from Overwork Recognized for Fukushima N-Plant Worker

November 5, 2018

Fukushima--Labor authorities have recognized that the death of a worker involved in automobile maintenance at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s <9501> Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant was caused by fatigue from long work hours, it was learned Monday.

The man, who died in October 2017 at the age of 57, worked some 100 hours overtime in the last month before his death, according to the National Union of General Workers, which received an inquiry from his family members.

At the time, TEPCO claimed that the worker died of disease and his death had nothing to do with his job at the plant in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, which suffered a triple-meltdown accident following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

According to the union and other sources, the man engaged in inspection and maintenance work for vehicles at the stricken plant from 2012 as an engineer of a subcontractor in the Fukushima Prefecture city of Iwaki.

During the work at the plant, the man was wearing a radiation protection suit and mask.

He collapsed when he was heading for work on Oct. 26, 2017. He was confirmed dead at a hospital, with fatal arrhythmia as the cause of death.

Finding that the man worked 80 hours or more overtime monthly at least for 18 months, his family members applied for workers' compensation with the Iwaki labor standards office in the prefecture in March this year. The office recognized the death as related to overtime work in October.

TEPCO said it is not in a position to make comments on the case as it has no direct employment contract with the man. Jiji Press