Working Hours in Japan

Feb 14, 2016 15:51
I sometimes find an opinion that Japanese work too long on the Internet.

Previously in Japan, since there were some famous phrases, such as "Monday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Friday" and "can you fight for 24 hours?," I had an impression that we work long time.

However, it was also said that Japanese don't work hard, they just work long time.

In order to solve this problem, recently Japan introduced a 5-day work week system, and increased the number of national holidays.

The current number of national holidays in Japan is 16 days, and the number is the third largest in the world.

However, I think two problems remain, working overtime for no pay and vacation deprivations.

Unfortunately, many Japanese companies don't seem to meet the Labor Standards Act.
日本人の労働時間

たまに、インターネット上で日本人は長時間働くという意見を耳にします。

以前の日本では、「月月火水木金金」や「24時間戦えますか」というキャッチフレーズがよくCMで流れており、沢山働いている印象がありました。

しかし日本人は働き過ぎなのではなく、ただ時間をかけているだけだとも言われていました。

これを解決するため、近年では休二日制を導入したり、祝日の数を増やしたりしています。

現在日本の祝日の数は16日で、その多さは世界で第三位です。

しかし、私はサービス残業と有休取得率の問題が残っていると思います。

残念なことに、多くの企業が労働基準法を満たしていないと考えられています。
No. 1 Yukinekorin's correction
  • Working Hours in Japan
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • I sometimes find an opinion that Japanese work too long on the Internet.
  • Occasionally, I would hear from others that Japanese work too long on the Internet.
  • Previously in Japan, since there were some famous phrases, such as "Monday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Friday" and "can you fight for 24 hours?," I had an impression that we work long time.
  • Since there were some famous phrases in Japan in the past such as "Monday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Friday" and "Can you fight for 24 hours?", I had an impression that we work for very long hours.
  • However, it was also said that Japanese don't work hard, they just work long time.
  • However, it is also said that Japanese don't work that hard, they just work for a longer time.
  • In order to solve this problem, recently Japan introduced a 5-day work week system, and increased the number of national holidays.
  • In order to solve this problem, Japan introduced a 5-day work week system recently, and increased the number of national holidays.
  • The current number of national holidays in Japan is 16 days, and the number is the third largest in the world.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • However, I think two problems remain, working overtime for no pay and vacation deprivations.
  • However, working overtime with no extra pay and vacation deprivations are the remaining unsolved problems in Japan.
  • Unfortunately, many Japanese companies don't seem to meet the Labor Standards Act.
  • Unfortunately, many Japanese companies don't seem to meet the requirements of the Labor Standards Act.
Hmm 16 National holidays is a lot! Singapore is known for the smallest number of national holidays in the world :(
Toru
Thank you so much always for correcting my post! :)
Oh, that's unfortunate. However, many people have a longing for working in Singapore.
Yukinekorin
You are welcome!! ^^
Yup, many people long to study in Singapore as well. But I feel that the working environment in Singapore is a little like Japan's, based on the number of working hours a week. But services in Japan are definitely better than Singapore's hahaha.
Toru
Yes, I also would like to study in Singapore :)
Also, people were very kind, though my English was bad, haha. Furthermore, fruits juice was very inexpensive and really delicious! I was impressed. Ah, I'm thirsty.
Yukinekorin
Haha to be honest though, although I love my own country, the people in Japan are much more polite and friendly in my opinion. Singapore allows foreigners to stay here, hence we have a lot of people of different cultures and nations staying here. As such, there are clashes of opinions and cultural differences, and some of the Chinese (my own race) isn't as polite as I am taught to be.

I thought we would be more famous for our food though hahaha! I didn't expect it to be fruit juice xD
Toru
I see, thank you for letting me know!
I sometimes think that all people are kind, but it might be danger, haha.

> I thought we would be more famous for our food though hahaha! I didn't expect it to be fruit juice xD
Haha, yes, I also ate many other famous and delicious food :) However, if I want to drink fresh fruit juice in Japan, I have to pay 600-800 yen (7-10 Singapore dollars) !
Yukinekorin
Haha I guess so! We won't know what they are really thinking.

That's really expensive for fruit juice! :O no wonder it struck you as one of the more memorable things in Singapore hahaha ^^
No. 2 Toxicstriker's correction
  • I sometimes find an opinion that Japanese work too long on the Internet.
  • I sometimes feel like Japanese work too long on the Internet.
  • Previously in Japan, since there were some famous phrases, such as "Monday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Friday" and "can you fight for 24 hours?," I had an impression that we work long time.
  • Until recently in Japan, since there were some famous phrases, such as "Monday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Friday" and "can you fight for 24 hours?," I had an impression that we work long time.
     I'm not sure what the first phrase is used for, can you explain
  • However, it was also said that Japanese don't work hard, they just work long time.
  • However, it was also said that Japanese don't work that hard, they just work longer.
  • In order to solve this problem, recently Japan introduced a 5-day work week system, and increased the number of national holidays.
  • In order to solve this problem, Japan recently introduced a 5-day work week system, and increased the number of national holidays.
  • The current number of national holidays in Japan is 16 days, and the number is the third largest in the world.
  • The current number of national holidays in Japan is 16 days, and Japan is the third country with longest holidays.
  • However, I think two problems remain, working overtime for no pay and vacation deprivations.
  • However, I think two problems remain, working overtime without payment and vacation deprivations.
Toru
  • Until recently in Japan, since there were some famous phrases, such as "Monday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Friday" and "can you fight for 24 hours?," I had an impression that we work long time.

    I'm not sure what the first phrase is used for, can you explain

Thank you so much for correcting my post! :)

> I'm not sure what the first phrase is used for, can you explain
"Monday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Friday" means that there are no Sunday and Saturday. This implies a 7-day work week.
Toxicstriker
He worked in McDonalds, until recently. (That means he was working there,but he doesn't work there anymore, He has quit his job, a couple of days/weeks ago).
And thanks for the explanation for the 7-day work week.
Toru
Thank you for the kind explanation! (^^)
No. 3 Irene / アイリン's correction
  • Working Hours in Japan
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • I sometimes find an opinion that Japanese work too long on the Internet.
  • I sometimes come across opinions that Japanese work too long on the Internet.
  • Previously in Japan, since there were some famous phrases, such as "Monday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Friday" and "can you fight for 24 hours?," I had an impression that we work long time.
  • Previously in Japan, since there were some famous phrases, such as "Monday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Friday" and "can you fight for 24 hours?," I was under the impression that we work for long hours long time.
  • However, it was also said that Japanese don't work hard, they just work long time.
  • However, it was also said that Japanese don't work hard, they just work long hours time.
     i think using "hours" instead of "time" is more natural in this case
  • In order to solve this problem, recently Japan introduced a 5-day work week system, and increased the number of national holidays.
  • In order to solve this problem, recently, Japan introduced a 5-day work week system, and increased the number of national holidays.
     "comma" is the same meaning as "and"
  • The current number of national holidays in Japan is 16 days, and the number is the third largest in the world.
  • The current number of national holidays in Japan is 16 days, and the number is the third highest in the world.
     "highest" is more accurate than "largest" in this case
  • However, I think two problems remain, working overtime for no pay and vacation deprivations.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • Unfortunately, many Japanese companies don't seem to meet the Labor Standards Act.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
You write really well! Excellent! ^^
Toru
Thank you very much for the corrections and the explanations!
I'm glad to hear you say that (^-^)
No. 4 Seralt's correction
  • I sometimes find an opinion that Japanese work too long on the Internet.
  • I sometimes find opinions on the internet that Japanese work too long.
  • Previously in Japan, since there were some famous phrases, such as "Monday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Friday" and "can you fight for 24 hours?," I had an impression that we work long time.
  • There used to be popular phrases in Japan, such as "Monday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Friday" and "can you fight for 24 hours?". I had an impression that we work long hours.
  • However, it was also said that Japanese don't work hard, they just work long time.
  • However, it was also said that Japanese don't work hard, they just work long hours.
     From my personal experience, I'd have to concur.
  • In order to solve this problem, recently Japan introduced a 5-day work week system, and increased the number of national holidays.
  • In order to solve this problem, Japan recently introduced a 5-day work week system, and increased the number of national holidays.
     how recently?
  • The current number of national holidays in Japan is 16 days, and the number is the third largest in the world.
  • The current number of national holidays in Japan is 16 days, which is third in the world for number of holidays in a country.
  • However, I think two problems remain, working overtime for no pay and vacation deprivations.
  • However, I think two problems remain: unpaid overtime, and vacation deprivation.
  • Unfortunately, many Japanese companies don't seem to meet the Labor Standards Act.
  • Unfortunately, many Japanese companies don't seem to follow/enforce the Labor Standards Act.
Yeah, it's a little upsetting to see, especially since I now have work experience in both Canada and Japan. Two things I think you might find interesting:

1. Japanese corporate culture seems to prefer the *image* of being hard-working, than an actually efficient employee. Rather than rewarding employees for finishing their work efficiently and quickly (by allowing them to go home earlier), they prefer to punish that behavior by expecting all employees stay later. This encourages Japanese workers to be inefficient, and wasteful.

2. Studies (Stanford Univ.) have shown that work-place productivity drops off sharply after about 55 hours in a work week. Meaning that if you work 70 hours a week, then you're wasting 15 hours of your life, and potentially causing mistakes for the company as well (which can be even more expensive to rectify). source: http://ftp.iza.org/dp8129.pdf
Toru
Thank you very much for correcting my post! :)

> how recently?
The 5-day work week system has been gradually introduced from around 1990, and in 2002, finally most companies and schools introduced it. Also, a national holiday called "山の日 (mountain day)" was enacted in 2016.

Also, thank you for sharing the interesting and helpful information :)
As you say, I think workings in many Japanese companies are inefficient. And the studies are really interesting. I will show them to my friend, who works over 80 hours a week.
No. 5 gwaice's correction
  • I sometimes find an opinion that Japanese work too long on the Internet.
  • It is sometimes safind (byan Netopizens)ion that Japanese people work too malonyg houn the Intersnet.
  • Previously in Japan, since there were some famous phrases, such as "Monday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Friday" and "can you fight for 24 hours?," I had an impression that we work long time.
  • Previously in Japan, since there were some famous phrases, such as "Monday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Friday" and "can you fight for 24 hours?," Igiving thade an impression that we work long timehours.
  • However, it was also said that Japanese don't work hard, they just work long time.
  • However, it wais also said that Japanese don't work hard, they just work long time.
     Unusual use of language but it expresses the meaning very eloquently, so no need to change :)
  • In order to solve this problem, recently Japan introduced a 5-day work week system, and increased the number of national holidays.
  • In order to solve this problem, Japan recently Japan introduced a 5-day work week system, and increased the number of national holidays.
  • The current number of national holidays in Japan is 16 days, and the number is the third largest in the world.
  • The current number of national holidays in Japan is 16 days, and the number is the third largest in the world.
  • However, I think two problems remain, working overtime for no pay and vacation deprivations.
  • However, I think two problems remain,; working overtime for no pay and vlacatik onf deprivacations.
     Do you mean that vacations are not given as standard, or that vacations days supposedly promised are not actually realised?
  • Unfortunately, many Japanese companies don't seem to meet the Labor Standards Act.
  • Unfortunately, many Japanese companies don't seem to rmespect the Labor Standards Act.
"seem to" implies subjectivity, while "meeting the Labour Standards Act" is not really a subjective issue (either they do, or they don't). To preserve the sense of subjectivity I suggest changing "meet" to "respect".
Toru
Thank you very much for correcting my post! :)

> Do you mean that vacations are not given as standard, or that vacations days supposedly promised are not actually realised?
Although vacations with pay are given, most of us don't use all of them. There are several reasons, such as pressures from their bosses, a guilt, and a sense of responsibility.
gwaice
Then maybe a good correction could be "and a tendency to forgo vacation days."
Toru
Thank you so much for modifying my expression! (^^)
BACK