The Japan Productivity Center for Socio-economic Development's recent "White Paper on Mental Health in Industry" reported that fully 67.2% of labor unions say there has been an increase in psychological disorders over the last three years. Illustrating this, 2002 saw record numbers of both "karoshi" and work-stress related suicides. Yet the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare reports only 23.5% of workplaces are doing anything to deal with this epidemic.
  
Among the causes suggested to explain this sad state of affairs is the collapse of such long-standing Japanese labor practices as seniority-based rewards and lifetime employment. About 30 years ago, Doi Takeo suggested "amae" (dependence) as a core concept distinguishing Japanese from Western psychologies. There is, he said, no apt Western translation for the Japanese verb "amaeru" (roughly meaning to take advantage of one's dependent status). And, he said, the world of "amae" is one permitting illogical equality.
  
Accepting Doi's thesis, I suspect Japanese have felt protected by the "amae"-esque nature of traditional employment practices, and the abrupt adoption of performance-based rewards and other Western practices has been extremely stressful for labor and management alike. It is essential that Japan develop employment practices that are compatible with the Japanese psyche, lest this dysfunctionality continue undermining our economy and our society.
  
Murata Shozo
Asahi Kasei Pax