Working less, dying more latest trend in Japan

TOKYO >> Working less and dying more may be the latest trend in Japanese labor.

The ranks of weary Japanese businessmen, red-eyed shop owners and worn-out professionals being worked to death reached a record high last year, according to government figures released this week.

Since first being recognized by the Health Ministry in 1987, death from overwork, known here as "karoshi," has steadily increased from 21 cases then to 143 last year. Karoshi strikes a wide range of people, but factory workers, doctors and taxi drivers are hit the hardest.

But in a land where hard work is a virtue and dedication to the company often means midnight overtime, people actually are working less than ever because of Japan's sagging economy. Companies are cutting back on shifts to trim labor costs and streamlining their assembly lines to churn out more work in less time.

Senate approves Bush trade authority bill

WASHINGTON >> In a display of bipartisanship, the Senate approved legislation yesterday that strengthens President Bush's ability to negotiate global trade deals while providing billions in new benefits for U.S. workers hurt by imports.

The 66-30 vote marked a victory for Bush, who has made a trade bill a top priority, and cleared the way for a complex negotiation with the House on a final compromise.

The Senate action "sends an important signal to our trading partners that we are committed to free and open trade," Bush said in a statement released while he was on an overseas trip to Europe and Russia. Enactment of a final House-Senate compromise, he said, "will give me the flexibility I need to secure the greatest possible trade opportunities for American workers, consumers, families and farmers."

In other news ...

NEW YORK >> In what is expected to be the beginning of a spate of long-feared layoffs, about 220 employees at IBM Corp.'s plant in Endicott, N.Y. were told yesterday that their jobs will be eliminated.

The layoffs comprise about 5 percent of the plant's 4,500 workers, said Todd Martin, an IBM spokesman at the plant near Binghamton, N.Y.