Nogata City employee's suicide was a ``public duty disaster'' Fukuoka High Court recognizes in second trial

On the 21st, the Fukuoka High Court handed down an appeals court ruling in a lawsuit filed by his wife, who had asked the Local Government Employees Accident Compensation Fund to revoke the certification of the accident as an ``accident not in the line of duty,'' claiming that a man (age 44 at the time) who was an employee of Nogata City, Fukuoka Prefecture, committed suicide in 2015 because he developed depression due to mental pressure from his subordinates and superiors at work.

Presiding Judge Norihiro Matsuda upheld the judgment of the Fukuoka District Court of first instance that rescinded the certification. He admitted that the suicide was caused by his official duties and was a ``public-duty accident,'' which is equivalent to a ``work-related accident'' in the private sector.

According to the first and second instance judgments, the man became a section chief in June 2015 with no prior experience, and developed depression around the end of September. He committed suicide the following month. The man was treated with a dismissive attitude by his subordinate staff, saying, ``That's the section chief's job,'' and his superior, the section manager, also said to him in public, ``Don't you even understand that?''

The foundation argued in the appeals court that the strain the man experienced was not at the level that would cause depression in an average employee. However, Presiding Judge Matsuda rejected the case, saying that the man had the ability to perform his duties and adapt to a position no lower than that of the average employee.

The foundation said, ``We will closely examine the contents of the judgment and consider future responses.''