The family of a police officer in Japan who died as a result of power harassment by his superior will receive compensation of 1.2 billion won. Although the family won the damages lawsuit, they expressed mixed feelings, as the ruling did not address the causes of the officer's death or propose any measures to prevent similar incidents.
According to Nagasaki Broadcasting Company (NBC) on June 10 (local time), the Nagasaki District Court ordered Nagasaki Prefecture to pay 135 million yen (approximately 1.2 billion won) in compensation to the family of the police officer who died due to workplace harassment (power harassment) by his superior.
According to the complaint, the male police inspector, who was 41 years old at the time of his death, was transferred to Sasebo Police Station in March 2020. After the transfer, he suffered from routine harassment and long working hours imposed by his superior, and died in October of the same year. The family filed the damages claim against the prefecture because the prefectural police recognized his death as an “on-duty accident” caused by his superior’s harassment.
In the June 10 ruling, Judge Matsunaga Shinsuke of the Nagasaki District Court acknowledged that the prefectural police had violated their duty of care for the officer’s safety, and ordered the prefecture to pay approximately 135 million yen in damages and unpaid overtime wages. However, the plaintiffs stated that the ruling did not specify the concrete details of the workplace harassment, and argued that this would not lead to fundamental improvements within the police organization. They announced plans to continue legal action in future lawsuits.
The wife of the police inspector said, “This trial was about the content, not the amount, so although we won, my feelings are complicated.” Nagasaki Prefectural Police stated, “We will review the ruling and consider our response.”
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