Japanese reporter died after 159 hours of overtime

Karoshi, or death from overwork, is not uncommon in Japan, known for notoriously
long work hours
TOKYO: Japan's public broadcaster has vowed to reform its working practices as it
revealed that a young reporter died of heart failure after logging 159 hours of
overtime in a month.
NHK reporter Miwa Sado, 31, who had been covering political news in Tokyo, was
found dead in her bed in July 2013, reportedly clutching her mobile phone.
A year later, Japanese authorities said her death was linked to excessive overtime.
She had two days off in the month before she died.
NHK eventually made the case public four years afterwards, bowing to pressure from
Sado's parents to take action to prevent a recurrence.
The case again highlights the Japanese problem of karoshi, or death from overwork,
amid the country's notoriously long work hours.
It is also an embarrassing revelation for NHK, which has campaigned against the
nation's long working culture.
Sato covered Tokyo assembly elections in June 2013 and an upper-house vote for the
national parliament the following month.
She died three days after the upper-house election.
"My heart breaks at the thought that she may have wanted to call me in her last
moments," her mother told the Asahi daily.
"With Miwa gone, I feel like half of my body has been torn off. I won't be able to
laugh for real for the rest of my life."