日本政府发布过劳死白皮书.doc

日本政府发布过劳死白皮书 Japan’s first government white paper on the still largely taboo phenomenon of death by overwork has revealed that a fifth of surveyed companies acknowledge their full-time staff works dangerously long hours. 日本发布了有关过劳死这个仍属禁忌的现象的首份政府白皮书。该白皮书披露，五分之一的受访企业承认，自己的全职员工工作时间长到了危险的地步。 The 280report — published almost three decades after Japan legally recognised death driven by overwork, known as karoshi — acknowledged that its contents made for bleak reading. 该报告发布时，日本距离从法律上承认过劳死（即工作过度导致的死亡）现象已有近三十年。这份长280页的报告承认，这个问题形势严峻。 Nearly 11 per cent of companies surveyed said they had full-time staff working at least 80 hours of overtime a month — a level which, by official acknowledgment, brings an increased risk of death from cardiovascular issues and other problems. 近11%的受访企业表示，它们有全职员工每个月至少加班80个小时。官方承认，这样的加班水平会加大因心血管问题及其他问题死亡的风险。 Almost 12 per cent of companies surveyed said they had staff working more than 100 hours of overtime a month. 将近12%的受访企业表示，它们有员工每个月加班逾100小时。 The white paper, which was forced into existence by a 2014 private member’s bill obliging the government take responsibility for preventing deaths and suicide through overwork, follows a year in which karoshi compensation claims surged to a record high of 1,456. 这份白皮书是迫于2014年一份日本普通议员法案的要求发布的，该法案要求日本政府承担起防止过度工作导致死亡和自杀的责任。白皮书公布前的一年里，日本过劳死索赔案件数量达到了1456起的创纪录高点。 Even then, say lawyers who have represented the families of victims, the issue is greatly understated and barely discussed. 过劳死受害者家属的代理律师们表示，即使是那样，这个问题仍被大大淡化，几乎没人讨论。 The survey had hoped to base its research on responses from 10,000 Japanese companies; in fact, it received replies from just 1,743. 这次调查原本希望能获得1万家日本企业的回复并据此开展研究，事实上却只收到了1743家企业的回复。 Government efforts have yet to bite, say labour groups. 多个劳工组织表示，政府的努力仍未见效。 Gentle slogans urging armies of reluctant salarymen let’s work shorter hours, or more practical measures such as turning office lights out at 7pm, are making no visible dent in a work culture that has devised few mechanisms for evaluati