Recent Working Life Changes in Japan

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the issue of the long working hours in Japan, and to discuss its effects on the working life of the individual. Although the average annual working hours dropped from 2,432 hours in 1960 to 2,111 hours in 1988, this is still 200–500 hours longer than the figure in western countries because of the low implementation rate of the five-day work week, the low usage rate of paid holiday, and increasing overtime hours. The following reasons have been given: a lower labor productivity per working hour than that in western countries; a stigma in the work place attached to taking a day-off; the loyalty of workers to the company; and cooperation between the management and the workers' unions. Two-thirds of workers complain of fatigue, and karoshi or death from overwork is becoming a social problem. Finally, in 1987, the government took a small step in revising the Law by changing the number of legal working hours. In addition, the labor unions have begun to try to reduce the working hours. It is expected that an improvement in the working life of the Japanese people will be seen in the 1990s.