If a staff member dies during the period of his or her active service, his or her survivors or the employing school may apply for bereavement compensation.
If a staff member dies during a period of disciplinary suspension, administrative suspension, provisional removal from employment, or unpaid leave, unless the unpaid leave period was a period of secondment to a position as a duly graded and assigned civil servant, his or her survivors or the employing school may apply for bereavement compensation in accordance with this Act. The same shall apply in the case of a teacher who is duly seconded on unpaid leave and who at the age of 65 has not yet returned to the original position and had his or her salary reinstated, and who dies within 10 years from the day of reaching the age of 65.
Bereavement compensation in the case of a staff member who dies before this Act comes into force shall be handled in accordance with the provisions originally in force before this Act comes into force.

Causes for bereavement compensation when a staff member dies during active service are as follows:
1. Death by illness or accident.
2. Death from a cause in the course of performance of official duties（hereinafter, "death from an occupational cause"）.
Death by suicide will be treated as death by illness or accident. However, bereavement compensation will not be given if the staff member commits suicide after having been sentenced for a crime by a final and conclusive judgment and before being served with a disposition of discharge from employment, removal from employment, or denied renewal of employment.

If a staff member dies from an occupational cause during active service, bereavement compensation for an occupational death will be arranged.
Death "from an occupational cause" in the preceding paragraph means that a current staff member dies from one of the following events, and there is a substantial causal relationship between the person's death and that event:
1. When performing a difficult mission such as disaster response, or performing a war-related mission, risking one's life and courageously performing the mission despite facing hazards entailing a high risk of death, resulting in death.
2. The occurrence of an accident or hazard, or an event of violence, or falling prey to an illness, in the workplace, or while away on official business, when performing a mission other than one under the preceding paragraph, resulting in death.
3. Sudden onset of illness, in the workplace, or while away on official business, when performing a mission other than one under the preceding two subparagraphs.
4. Any of the following circumstances, resulting in death:
（1）The occurrence of an accident or hazard while traveling to or from the performance of a mission under subparagraph 1.
（2）Sudden onset of illness while traveling to or from the performance of a mission under subparagraph 1 or 2, or the occurrence of an accident or hazard while traveling to or from the performance of a mission under subparagraph 2.
（3）The occurrence of an accident or hazard, or sudden onset of illness, during the period of advance preparation for the performance of a mission or of follow-up work after a mission.
5. Unyielding diligence or overwork, resulting in death.
If death from a circumstance under item 1 or 2 of subparagraph 4 of the preceding paragraph is the result of an accident caused by a serious traffic violation by the staff member himself or herself, the bereavement compensation will be handled as for an accidental death.
When any doubt arises regarding the determination, under the subparagraphs of the preceding two paragraphs, of an event of occupational death as grounds for bereavement compensation and of the causal relationship in respect thereto, the competent authority shall select scholars and experts from fields such as medicine, law, and personnel administration to compose an ad hoc review committee, to make a determination based on the facts and relevant theory.
When reviewing individual cases with respect to the elements of death resulting from sudden onset of illness under subparagraphs 3 and 4 of paragraph 2, or resulting from unyielding diligence or overwork under subparagraph 5, the review committee referred to in the preceding paragraph may refer to the Reference Criteria for the Review of Civil Servants Suffering Sudden Onset of Illness Due to Occupational Causes or Death Resulting From Unyielding Diligence or Overwork.