A male employee of Hitachi Zosen, a machinery manufacturer headquartered in Osaka, committed suicide three years ago in Thailand, where he was posted overseas.He developed a mental illness due to the burden of unfamiliar work and strict guidance from his superiors. His family and lawyer have revealed that the Labor Standards Inspection Office has certified the accident as a work-related accident.

Yuki Ueda (27 years old at the time), who worked for Hitachi Zosen, died three years ago in April 2021 after falling from a height of approximately 30 meters at a factory in Thailand where he was working overseas.



Regarding this, on the 25th, Mr. Ueda's mother Naomi and his attorney held a press conference in Osaka City and announced that the Labor Standards Inspection Office had certified this as a work-related accident this month.

According to that, Mr. Ueda was working overseas for the first time, working on a construction project for a waste incineration power plant in Thailand, but due to the effects of the new coronavirus, there was no on-site training beforehand, and there was no training during the course. His dispatch period was extended, and he was also involved in plant trial runs, which is outside his area of ​​expertise.



Additionally, his superiors repeatedly disciplined him about his mistakes at work.



According to his lawyer, the Labor Standards Inspection Office determined that he had developed a mental illness due to the psychological strain he was under due to the unfamiliar work he was doing overseas and the strict guidance he received regarding his mistakes.

Her mother, Naomi, said:

``He was a kind son who would buy home appliances for the family when he received a bonus.When May came around, when he was scheduled to return from his overseas assignment, I was waiting for him to come home.'' It's me.I want the company to fully explain the fact that it has been recognized as a work-related accident."

Third-party committee ``Unable to determine whether it was suicide or an accident''

Hitachi Zosen established a third-party committee made up of lawyers and compiled an investigation report in November of last year.



The statement states that it was not possible to determine whether Ueda's death was a suicide or an accidental accident.

In his diary, he wrote things like ``I wanted to die.''

On the other hand, it has been confirmed that in the diary that Mr. Ueda kept at the scene, there were entries that referred to suicide, such as, ``I wanted to die by noon.''

The diary that Mr. Ueda kept while there

Furthermore, after Mr. Ueda's work at the site changed from his specialty of setting up electrical equipment to plant commissioning, overtime work has increased rapidly.



Regarding the guidance and warnings given to him by his superiors, the statement said, ``While some of them were emotional, they did not go beyond what is considered to be socially acceptable.''



The report further stated that Mr. Ueda "acknowledged that he had been suffering from accumulated fatigue due to unfamiliar trial run work and a sudden increase in overtime work, as well as psychological burden due to the attention and guidance from other members. It concludes that "it is possible."

Hitachi Zosen commented as follows regarding the certification of work-related accidents.

"Once again, I would like to express my deepest condolences.As a company, we would like to respond to the bereaved family in good faith.We will continue to take measures to prevent recurrence so that something like this will never happen again." I am willing to go.”

Consultation counter for people with worries

Consultation counters for people with concerns and concerns are introduced on the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's website.



You can also search for ``Mamorou Yokokoro'' on the Internet.



The main telephone consultation points are



▼ ``Yorisoi Hotline'' at 0120-279-338,


▼ ▼ ``Mental Health Consultation Unified Dial''



at 0570-064-556.