Head of Japan's largest ad agency to quit over suicide of young worker

Tokyo

THE president of Dentsu Inc, Japan's largest advertising agency, will step down over the "death by overwork" of a young employee, a suicide which has prompted official probes and fresh hand-wringing over Japan's overtime culture.

Matsuri Takahashi, a promising graduate of Japan's top university, leapt to her death in December 2015, leaving behind a trail of grievances over relentless days. She clocked 105 hours of overtime in October 2015, before becoming depressed.

Her death, deemed by the government to be karoshi, or death by overwork, has prompted raids on Dentsu offices, but has also been followed by Japan's first…