2019: The Nation That Never Rests

The Asia-Pacific Journal | Japan Focus Volume 17 | Issue 10 | Number 2 | May 15, 2019
Mit freundlicher Erlaubnis von Japan Focus

The Nation That Never Rests:
Japan’s Debate Over Work-Life Balance and Work that Kills
Samuel J. Timinsky

Summary:

After 1973, employers in Japan who had been promising to adopt a weekend system began to withdraw those plans. Thus began a yet-unfinished debate in Japan about how to balance need for employee rest with the demands of employers to increase economic output. The Liberal Democratic Party’s current approach to the overwork problem, including its recent labor reforms—which emphasize granting legal flexibility to employees without creating firm regulations to prevent employers from demanding excessive labor—reflects the continued refusal of employers and political leaders to accept the need for employee worklife balance.

 

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