The 4-day work week is promoted by Japan, a country known for its workaholic population, as part of Japanese culture. The government has stepped up pressure on companies to adopt the four-day working week, but these efforts are being “sabotaged” by the workers themselves.

The Japanese government recently launched a “working style reform” campaign aimed at promoting flexible work arrangements, shorter hours and limits on overtime.

A similar attempt was made in 2021 but – although approved by the legislators – it was never implemented as the… stakeholders were unwilling to work less.

To further encourage this initiative, Japan’s Ministry of Labor has also started providing subsidies and free consulting services.

Because the Japanese are workaholics, even at the risk of their lives

For example, one of Japan’s largest companies, Panasonic, adopted a four-day work option for workers in 2022, but only about 150 of the 63,000 eligible workers chose to participate.

“The reasons Japanese people work long hours are cultural and social. These things don’t change quickly,” Tim Craig, who spent more than 20 years teaching and conducting research at top business schools in Japan, told CNBC.

According to Craig, who has also written a book on Japanese folk and traditional culture, the Japanese place a high value on work because they tend to see it as “positive part of life».

The workplace is also where most Japanese have the most their social interactions.

Workers are often willing to stay longer to help the team and attend large company dinners, noted Martin Schulz, chief policy economist at Fujitsu.

“Being part of a company is almost part of a community, and that often leads to more hours of work, but not as much efficiency,” he told CNBC.

But apart from that, even if someone wants to work less, he will be confronted with it social pressure.

“If they go home early, then their colleagues will a) look askance at them and b) have to work harder to make up for them. Either way they’re going to feel bad,” Craig said.

According to the 2022 official report, 10.1% of men and 4.2% of women in Japan work more than 60 hours per week, linking these long hours to the incidence of cart – recognized cause of death either from a heart attack, or from a stroke, or from suicide, due to overwork.

“I think it will take time for the four-day work to penetrate the market … we are not used to being flexible,” said Hiroshi Ono, a professor of human resources at Hitotsubashi University.

“It is still quite rare in other countries as well. So I think Japan especially will take some time to do that,” he added.