Japan reporter died after 159 hrs of overtime

Japan's public broadcaster yesterday apologised to the parents of a young reporter who died of heart failure after logging 159 hours of overtime in a month.

NHK reporter Miwa Sado, 31, who had been covering political news in Tokyo, was found dead in her bed in July 2013, reportedly clutching her mobile phone.

A government inquest a year after her death ruled that it was linked to excessive overtime. She had taken two days off in the month before she died.

The case has again highlighted the Japanese problem of "karoshi" -- meaning death from overwork. According to a government report on death from overwork released on Friday, there were 191 "karoshi" cases in the year ending March 2017.