Despite economic recovery in the country, a recent government survey reveals a record number of Japanese became seriously ill or died due to overwork in 2005.

Some 330 workers fell severely ill or died because of overwork, while suicides topped 30,000 for an eighth straight year.

The figures are up 12.2 percent from the previous year. In all, 157 people died, many from stroke or heart attack.

The report also says that the number of applications for worker compensation due to suspected disease or death from overwork also hit a record high of 869 during the same period.

The World Health Organization says that Japan has the highest suicide rate in the industrialized world and the government has campaigned for years to stop death from overwork.