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Takayuki Maezawa worked hard to support his mother and sister. He worked so hard the Japanese government says the 32 year old worked himself to death.
"I ask myself, can there even be such a thing," says Maezawa's mother, "to feel this much sadness?"
It may sound shocking to hear a man was worked to death, but Japan's labor standards bureau even has a name for it:"Karoshi" it means death by overwork.
Takayuki Maezawa was a manager at a restaurant outside of Tokyo.
His mother logged an average of 200 hours of overtime each month last summer.
That amounts to working 7am to 3am every single day.
Last october, Maezawa collapsed inside the restaurant and died days later in the hospital of a brain hemmorage.
" His work killed him, says Maezawa's sister. I just can't believe it. He died way too early."
Union groups say this case represents a group of people who pay the heaviest price in a tight economy.
Another employee working for the same restaurant company died of "karoshi" or overwork four years ago.
Since then the company says it has developed new programs to monitor hours and provide annual employee health checks.
The company has disputed the Maezawa's family's records of 200 hours a month in overtime.
Maezawa's family says they'll take the fight to court if they have to, all in hopes of sending a message that even in tough economic times it is better to lose a job than lose a life.
In Japan and here in the US there's a trend of employees not using all of their vacation time because of job security concerns.
Some employees push themselves too far because they consider unlogged overtime as a sign of commitment to your job.
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