Aug 11 (NHK) - Labor authorities have officially acknowledged that a Japanese doctor killed himself due to overwork. His suicide has drawn attention to the harsh working conditions of people in the medical field.
The doctor in his 30s began working at the gynecology and obstetrics department of a hospital in Tokyo after a 2-year internship. He committed suicide in July 2015.
His family's lawyer says he worked more than 170 hours of overtime in the month before he killed himself.
The lawyer says the doctor took just 5 days off in the 6 months prior to his suicide.
Observers say it's hard to regulate overtime for medical practitioners. Doctors aren't allowed to refuse a patient's request for an examination without a good reason.
