But for a long time, Japan's powerful bureaucrats barely acknowledged its existence, knowing full well that hard work was a key ingredient in the nation's post-war economic success. In recent years, Japanese attitudes toward extreme overwork have been changing.
People are less prepared to accept a father or son being treated as a corporate kamikaze pilot.
Appeal hearings finished recently, and 200 similar cases are going through the courts. Toiling selflessly for the corporation has long been a romantic notion in Japanese culture. They have helped salarymen transform their country into an economic superpower. Not just lunch, but holidays too, were for wimps. For one thing, recession meant less work to do.