Japan Pushes Four-Day Workweek, But Cultural Norms Present Steep Challenges

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Japan Pushes Four-Day Workweek, But Cultural Norms Present Steep Challenges
JapanWork-Life BalanceFour-Day Workweek
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Despite government efforts to promote a shorter workweek in Japan, deeply ingrained cultural norms and social pressures continue to make the transition difficult. The country's reputation for long working hours is tied to social expectations and workplace dynamics.

Japan has ramped up its push for companies to adopt a four-day workweek , but those efforts face steep challenges in a country famous for its workaholic culture.

The move marks a more concerted effort after the government first floated support for a shorter workweek in 2021 when lawmakers endorsed the idea. But the concept has not been mandated, and has been slow to gain traction.wrote a book on Japanese popular and traditional culture "Being part of a company is almost part of a community, and this results often in longer work hours, not as efficient work hours," he told CNBC.addressing Japan's excessively long working hours and their connection to depression and karoshi, or death from overwork. In 2022, 2,968 people in Japan died by suicide attributed to karoshi, an increase from 1,935 in 2021. Japan has not released its white paper for 2023's statistics yet.

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