Cosmetics Company President Resigns, Pays Compensation After Employee's Death from Power Harassment

On September 11th, in Tokyo's Kasumigaseki district, the sister of a woman who died following power harassment attended a news conference alongside her lawyers. The woman's death was attributed to the actions of the president of D-up Corp., a Tokyo-based cosmetics manufacturer.

The president has since resigned and agreed to provide compensation to the deceased employee's family. D-up Corp., the company behind the "D-UP" brand, and its former president, Mitsuru Sakai, will pay 150 million yen in settlement funds. This information was revealed during the news conference.

The deceased woman was 25 years old at the time of her death. Her family had previously filed a lawsuit against Sakai and the company, seeking damages. The Tokyo District Court issued a "decision in lieu of settlement" on September 9th, which included the financial compensation and required the company to implement measures to prevent similar incidents in the future. Both parties accepted the court's decision, concluding the legal proceedings.

The woman began working at D-up in April 2021. In December of that year, she was reprimanded by Sakai during a meeting for actions such as contacting a client without prior authorization. During the meeting, Sakai used derogatory language and harshly criticized her. The following day, he made another disparaging remark. In January 2022, she was diagnosed with depression. In August of the same year, she attempted suicide, which initially failed. She remained unconscious until October, when she passed away.

In May 2024, the Mita labor standards inspection office determined a direct link between the president's power harassment, the woman's depression, and her death. The office classified her death as a work-related accident.

At the news conference, the woman's elder sister expressed mixed feelings, stating that while the court's outcome was positive, the apology felt insufficient given the time that had passed since her sister's death. She wished for an apology while her sister was still alive. D-up released a statement announcing the president's replacement and offered an apology to the deceased employee and her family, promising to review and improve internal systems and the workplace environment.