Prosecutors had moved to seek a summary court order for Dentsu to pay fines based on simplified criminal proceedings, called a summary indictment. A summary order, which would be issued without an open trial, is for this case “inadequate,” according to the court Dentsu was summarily indicted on July 5, but the prosecutors stopped short of indicting senior Dentsu officials for allegedly making employees work illegally long hours, as prosecutors believed that the actions by firm managers were not enough to merit such punishment. The December 2015 suicide of 24-year-old Matsuri Takahashi, which occurred
less than a year after she started working at Dentsu, and the conclusion by labor standards inspectors that she died as a result of overwork, sparked a national dialogue over the issue of excessive overtime hours that many company workers endure. The karoshi incident also had a major impact on the government’s initiative to improve working conditions. Dentsu had allegedly made Takahashi and three other employees work illegally long hours from October 2015, exceeding the monthly 50 hour maximum allowed under a labor-management agreement, according to the written indictment. The indictment said they worked beyond the limit in a range between 3 hours and 30 minutes to 19 hours and 23 minutes in excess. Local labor standards office determined in 2016 that Takahashi had worked 105 hours of overtime in a one-month period before showing symptoms of depression. Takahashi jumped to her death from her company dormitory in Tokyo on Christmas Day in 2015. In cases of karoshi, a company typically faces a summary indictment while senior company officials responsible for issuing job orders will often have the indictments against them dropped. The proceedings would then lead to a quick settlement if the company agrees to pay fines without disputing the case. In previous cases investigated by special units for the Tokyo and Osaka labor bureaus tasked with curbing overwork labor practices, at least two had gone to trial even though they were subject to summary indictments. In both cases, courts ordered payments of ¥500,000 ($4,410) in fines.