茨城中国実習生過労死

Recently the Asahi News reported the following:

日本で技術を学ぶ外国人研修・技能実習制度で来日し、茨城県潮来（いたこ）市のめっき加工会社で働いていた中国人実習生の男性（当時３１）が急性心不全で亡くなったのは長時間労働が原因だとして、鹿嶋労働基準監督署は２日、「過労死による労災」と認定した。男性の弁護士によると、外国人研修・技能実習生の過労死による労災が認定されたのは全国で初。

　労災認定を受けたのは、２００５年１２月に外国人研修・技能実習制度を利用して来日した蒋暁東（チアン・シアオトン）さん。潮来市の会社で働き始め、３年目の０８年６月、就寝中に急死した。遺族が０９年８月、鹿嶋労基署に労災申請していた。 同署は、蒋さんが亡くなる直前の３カ月間、月９３～１０９時間の残業をしており、過労死だったと判断。同署は、蒋さんら中国人実習生３人を違法に長時間残業させ、最低賃金を下回る時給４００円の残業代しか支払っていなかったなどとして、この会社と男性社長（６６）を労働基準法違反容疑（長時間労働、残業代不払い）で水戸地検土浦支部に書類送検した。３人に対する未払い賃金は計１８万円という。

The Chinese male trainee (aged 31 at that time) who worked at the plating processing company in Itako city of Ibaraki county came to Japan under the technical internship program, that allowed foreigners be trained in learning technology in Japan was assumed to have been working long hours and died of the acute cardiac insufficiency, and on the 2nd the Kashima Labor Standards Inspection Office recognized it as a case of "Workers' accident compensation due to death from overwork". According to the man's lawyer, it was the first recognized case in the whole country that workers' accident compensation was related to foreigner training and technical intern's death resulted from overwork.

It was Jiang Xiadong who came to Japan in December 2005 under the foreigner training and the technical internship program who had received the workers' accident compensation recognition. He began to work at the company in Itako City, and died suddenly while sleeping in bed in June 2008, the third year in Japan. The bereaved family in August 2009 applied to Kashima Labor Standard Office for the workers' accident compensation. The same Office judged that Jiang in the three months immediately before his death had worked overtime between 93 to 109 hours a month and judged that death was due to overwork. Three Chinese trainees including Jiang were made to work overtime illegally for a long time, and it was assumed that the overtime payment at the hourly wage was only 400 yen that fell below the minimum wage, and the Office had sent a police report on the male president (66) of this company to the Mito District Public Prosecutors office Tsuchiura branch on suspicion of Labor Standards Law violation (long working hours and overtime pay nonpayment). The unpaid wage to these three people was 180,000 yen in total.

It is a sad story to hear. I am wondering whether these Chinese workers in Japan are just working for the wage or are really motivated by the opportunity to learn some high technical skill from Japanese factories.