Abstract
This paper described and examined the case of Hokkaido Research Institute
for the Twenty-first Century Co., Ltd and others (Sapporo High Court; Judgment
on December 19, 2019). In this case, a plaintiff in the first instance (X), employed
by a defendant in the first instance (Y1 Company) as a chief researcher, developed
depression after X worked overtime exceeding 100 hours a month, four times a year.
After the condition was recognized as a labor accident in January 2014, X asserted
that Y1 Company had breached its duty of care and claimed damages against it.
In addition, X demanded compensation against Y1 Company and an X’s direct
supervisor (Y2), asserting that improper labor management of Y1 Company and
harassment and other acts by Y2 were torts against X. In the first instance, the court
recognized a causal link between work and X’s depressive symptoms. Concerning
these torts committed by Y1 Company and Y2, the court recognized unfair pay cuts
and a forced resignation, determining that a breach of the duty of care was found
only in the coercion of resignation.
