Japan's workaholics may not be open to a four-day workweek.

• Japan is intensifying its efforts to encourage businesses to adopt a four-day workweek, but these efforts face significant obstacles in a country known for its work-oriented culture.
• According to Tim Craig, the reasons Japanese work long hours are rooted in cultural and social norms, which tend to be slow to change.

Japan is intensifying its efforts to encourage businesses to adopt a four-day workweek, but these efforts face significant obstacles in a country known for its work-oriented culture.

The Japanese government has launched a "work style reform" campaign to promote flexible work arrangements, shorter hours, and overtime limits. In support of this initiative, the labor ministry is now offering subsidies and free consulting services.

The government's recent move to support a shorter workweek is a more determined effort, following its initial endorsement of the idea in 2021. However, the concept has not been legally mandated and has struggled to gain momentum.

According to Tim Craig, a professor who has spent over 20 years teaching and researching in top business schools in Japan, the reasons Japanese work long hours are rooted in cultural and social norms, which tend to be slow to change.

Approximately 8% of Japanese companies allow their employees to have three or more days off per week, as stated by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

Craig, who wrote a book on Japanese popular and traditional culture, stated that the Japanese highly value work as it is viewed as a positive aspect of life, but social pressure also influences this perspective.

If they leave early, their colleagues will view them suspiciously and have to work harder to cover for them. In either case, it's not a pleasant situation.

Fujitsu's chief policy economist, Martin Schulz, noted that the workplace is where most Japanese have most of their social interactions, and employees are often willing to stay around longer to help the team and attend long company dinners.

He told CNBC that being part of a company often feels like being part of a community, which often leads to longer work hours, but not necessarily more efficient ones.

The health ministry published its annual white paper on Japan's long working hours and their link to depression and karoshi in October 2022. In 2022, 2,968 people in Japan died by suicide attributed to karoshi, an increase from 1,935 in 2021. Japan has not yet released its white paper for 2023's statistics.

The incidence of karoshi is linked to the long hours worked by 10.1% of men and 4.2% of women, as highlighted in the report.

Hiroshi Ono, a professor of human resources at Hitotsubashi University, stated that it may take time for the four-day work week to become accepted as we are not accustomed to being flexible.

Japan may take some time to adopt the practice, as it is still relatively uncommon in other countries.

Ono noted that the few companies adopting a four-day workweek are typically not traditional Japanese companies, as exemplified by Microsoft Japan.

For traditional Japanese companies, it may take longer, he stated.

In 2022, one of Japan's largest companies introduced a four-day workweek option for employees, but only about 150 of the 63,000 eligible workers took advantage of it.

Since 2020, brokerage firm SMBC has given employees aged 40 years or older the option of a four-day workweek for either family care or autonomous career development. However, this option is only available to employees who have been with the company for at least four years.

While the adoption rates are slim, the initiative is not all moot.

Fujitsu's Schulz stated that the government's push for work-life balance has resulted in companies being required to limit endless overtime hours, and the overall flexibility helps, definitely.

Experts informed CNBC that the idea of karoshi is not exclusive to Japan. In 2019, over 770 workers in Sweden reportedly passed away due to work-related stress.

Ono stated that the unique aspect of Japan is the ministry's collection of data on karoshi.