[Recent trends in work-related compensation involving job-related suicide and mental disease]

According to National Police Agency statistics, suicide and the number of work-related accident claims involving mental disease is rapidly increasing in Japan. In addition, the number of lawsuits against companies and government employers involving mental health issues has substantially risen. The boundary between job-related mental disease and non-job-related mental disease is becoming increasingly ambiguous. Today, I am going to highlight problems in the diagnosis of job-related mental disease. It is very important to educate leaders in the business community as well as laborers about the prevention of job-related mental disease, especially regarding suicide and its warning signs. I am going to give examples of some lawsuits and highlight some deficits in the present guidelines for diagnosing mental disease in work-related compensation claims. As it is predicted that the prevalence of mental disease will continue to increase, the criteria for diagnosing mental disease and the terms and methods of medical treatment in regards to compensation should be reviewed.