海角大神

Unlike her predecessors, Japan鈥檚 new Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae has never been to a posh restaurant for dinner. She sleeps only 2 to 4 hours a night. All she does, she said shortly after her election, is 鈥渨ork, work, work, work, and work.鈥�

Her remarks 鈥� which this week were named Japan鈥檚 鈥渃atchphrase of the year鈥� 鈥� have caused a stir in a country notorious for karoshi, or death from overworking.

They wouldn鈥檛 have raised an eyebrow a few decades ago, when Japan was still basking in the glow of its postwar rise into an economic superpower, and workers who dedicated their lives to companies were celebrated as 鈥渃orporate warriors.鈥� But today, when Japanese workers appreciate work-life balance and scoff at overworked employees as 鈥�shachiku,鈥� or company slaves, the words struck a nerve.

Japan has made modest progress reining聽in work hours, but the buzz around Ms. Takaichi highlights just how recent 鈥� and tenuous 鈥� these gains are. Her administration now plans to relax overtime restrictions, hoping it will appease the business community and help revitalize Japan鈥檚 economy. Shimasaki Chikara, standing manager at the Labour Lawyers Association of Japan, says it may do the opposite.

鈥淧rolonged work 鈥� [can be] detrimental to physical and mental well-being of workers,鈥� says the Yokohama-based lawyer. 鈥淚t could also sap social vitality, undermining a work-life balance, women鈥檚 career development, men鈥檚 housework, and countermeasures to the falling birthrate.鈥�

The prime minister is 鈥渙ut of touch with the reality,鈥� he adds.

Death from overworking

Oizumi Junko watched her husband slowly lose his spark after transferring to a new junior high school in 2006. Between office work and athletic clubs, the once-passionate English teacher was suddenly clocking more than 100 hours of overtime a month. When the 2007 school year began, he often felt too sick to go to work. Ms. Oizumi urged him to see a doctor, but he declined, citing his busy schedule.

She wishes she had done more.

In February, after calming down a disruptive student, Ms. Oizumi鈥檚 husband took his own life. It was one of more than 100 official cases of karoshi recorded by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare that year, but victim advocates say the actual number of deaths related to overworking is much higher.

Ms. Oizumi later partnered with other families impacted by karoshi to raise awareness about excessive overtime. They see some signs of progress.

In 2019, Japan limited overtime to 45 hours a month for most employees, following a widely reported case of one such worker, Takahashi Matsuri. Like Ms. Oizumi鈥檚 husband, Ms. Takahashi reportedly worked hundreds of hours of overtime in the year leading up to her suicide. Some major corporations, including Hitachi and Panasonic Holdings, have introduced a four-day workweek, with the Tokyo Metropolitan government and other municipalities following suit this year.

Official karoshi statistics have stayed relatively stagnant, but as awareness grows, the number of workers engaging in dangerous levels of overtime has declined. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare reports that only 8% of full-time employees surpassed 60 working hours a week in 2024, down from 17.9% in 2003.

So when Ms. Takaichi called her aides to a 3 a.m. meeting in October ahead of legislative deliberations, Ms. Oizumi was appalled.

鈥淚t鈥檚 quite unthinkable,鈥� says Ms. Oizumi, head of the Miyagi branch of the Association of Families of Considering Karoshi. The prime minister is 鈥渢urning the clock back. I think it鈥檚 fine for her to study by herself at 3 a.m. But it鈥檚 wrong for her to involve others.鈥�

Push for balance

Others defended Ms. Takaichi鈥檚 early morning meeting, arguing that long hours are part of public service.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 the fuss?鈥� asked veteran talk show host Furutachi Ichiro on his YouTube channel, which is followed by 626,000 people. 鈥淐ome on! Why don鈥檛 bureaucrats work? Both politicians and bureaucrats are people鈥檚 servants in the truest sense.鈥�

Mr. Furutachi went on to say that 鈥渋f you support Japan鈥檚 economic growth, all of those in the private sector should also abandon their work-life balance.鈥� On that point, he appears to be in the minority.

When asking about what amount of monthly overtime is 鈥渁ppropriate,鈥� a 2023 government survey found that 87.6% respondents answered somewhere in the 1-20 hour range. Only 3.1% said that exceeding 45 hours would be appropriate, suggesting that most of the country would prefer stronger workplace protections.

And if economic growth is the goal, experts from the Meiji Yasuda Research Institute say prioritizing work-life balance should help 鈥� their 2023 survey on workplace habits showed that employees are more interested in building skills and working later into life when their hours are reasonable and it鈥檚 easy to take time off.

Even Ms. Takaichi has backtracked after harsh criticism over the meeting, apologizing for 鈥渃ausing trouble鈥� to her aides, driver, and secret service guards.

Ms. Oizumi believes it鈥檚 important for all working adults to model the importance of work-life balance. Her group has been visiting high schools and universities to try and prepare students for the reality of entering Japan鈥檚 workforce.

鈥淣othing is more important than life,鈥� she tells students. 鈥淪o, please don鈥檛 push yourself.鈥�