In Japan , a women named Satomi had reportedly by suicide after she faced verbal abuse from her company’s President . Recently the Japanese court ruled that the company and the President were responsible for her death and hence the family were compensated with 150 million yen .
Satomi,a 25-year-old woman,died by suicide after she was verbally abused in the workplace in 2023. In October 2023, Satomi who was a woman employee of Tokyo-based cosmetics manufacturer D-UP Corporation died after a prolonged coma after she attempted suicide. According to local news outlet NHK , Satomi had joined D-UP in April 2021.
During December,2021 , Satomi was asked to join a meeting with the company’s president, Mitsuru Sakai. While the meeting was going on , Satomi was scolded harshly for certain actions-which included visiting a client without permission .
During the meeting , D-UP president Mitsuru Sakai used harsh words against the 25-year-old employee to the extent of calling her a “stray dog”. It didnot end here , the following day she was told that”a weaker dog barks louder”.
After this incident of the meeting , during December 2021, Satomi had developed depression. She was diagnosed with depression in January 2022 and she had taken a leave of absence from her work .
In August 2022, the 25-year-old-Satomi attempted to take her own life . After this incident she was left completely unconscious. After a long period of treatment , she died in October 2023.
Months before she passed away , in July 2023, her parents sued the company and its president , seeking damages . In May 2024, the Mita labor standards inspection office recognised a casual link between the president’s harassment , Satomi’s depression, and her death. This incident allowed her death to be classified as a work-related accident.
The Tokyo District Court said in its ruling on September 9th, 2025 that the cosmetic company D-UP should admit that the harassment from its president led to the employee’s death. The court also said that the president might resign and should be awarding 150 million yen as a compensation to Satomi’s family .
Mitsuru Sakai , who is the president of D-UP, resigned on Wednesday. In a statement on its website D-UP apologised to the victim’s family. “We apologize to our former employee who passes away and to her family . We will work to review and improve our internal systems and workplace environment”, it said.
