New Phenomenon in Japan: Workaholic Culture 'Rises from the Grave'

Japan is starting to loosen the enforcement of overtime limits for workers. This move comes after years of the nation attempting to end the excessive work culture that has long been associated with the Land of the Rising Sun.

Starting Tuesday (1/9/2026), Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare will no longer universally encourage companies to limit employee overtime to a maximum of 45 hours per month. This policy emerges after business groups requested greater flexibility in managing working hours, particularly to face labour shortages and seasonal surges in demand.

Quoting the Japan Times, this step raises questions as to whether Japan is beginning to backtrack on the work-style reforms built over many years. What is happening?

This is believed to be related to the leadership of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. After being elected last October, she promised the slogan “work, work, work, work, and work” in her victory speech.

Takaichi herself is known as a workaholic. She even frequently boasts about sleeping only “zero to three hours” each night.

She is personally pushing for the relaxation of overtime limits under the pretext of helping to overcome labour shortages in Japan while simultaneously driving economic growth. Takaichi has become the driver of an initiative that some parties have dubbed a “reform to work more.”

“Changes must be made while ensuring the physical and mental health of employees and based on their own choice to work overtime,” Takaichi claimed at the time.

However, Japan’s largest trade union, Rengo, regrets the government’s decision. A group of lawyers representing the families of victims of karoshi—death due to overwork—also condemned the policy.

They assess the government’s move as a serious blow to the work-style reforms previously aimed at preventing deaths and illnesses caused by excessive overtime. These concerns arise as cases related to karoshi have actually hit record highs.

Notably, data announced by the Japanese government shows that the number of compensation claims related to work-related death and illness reached 6,212 cases in the 2025 fiscal year, an increase of 1,402 cases compared to the previous year. No new data has been released for 2026 so far.

“In the current Japanese workplace, overwork and stress are robbing workers of their health, and even their lives,” said the group.

Japan’s Overtime Rules?

In reality, Japan began tightening overtime rules through the 2018 work-style reform, which came into effect in 2019. In principle, these rules limit overtime to 45 hours per month and 360 hours per year, with companies and workers required to make a work agreement known as the “36 Agreement.”

Under special circumstances, workers can still work longer if there are specific clauses within that agreement. The limit can reach 100 hours of overtime in a single month, an average of 80 hours per month for two to six months, and a maximum of 720 hours per year.

The reform has shown results so far. A survey by the Recruit Works Institute of approximately 50,000 people showed that the proportion of workers working 45 hours or more of overtime continues to decline.

In 2025, about 7.3% of full-time workers worked at least 45 hours of overtime, down from 13.6% in 2016. If including all workers, the proportion dropped from 9.5% to 5.1%.

OECD data also shows that Japanese working hours have decreased. In 2021, the average Japanese worker worked approximately 1,651 hours per year, lower than the United States (US), which reached 1,773 hours.

Nevertheless, Japanese working hours remain higher than France, which reaches 1,401 hours. It is also significantly higher than Germany, where working hours are only 1,295 hours.

Business World Demands Flexibility?

Meanwhile, the push to relax the enforcement of overtime limits comes from the business world. The Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) previously criticised labour standards inspection offices for continuing to request that companies limit overtime to 45 hours, even when workers and companies have agreed upon specific clauses.

JCCI considers this approach to be legally non-transparent and potentially an impediment to business activities. A survey of 1,724 JCCI member companies in May also showed that more than 70% of respondents desire more flexible working rules to deal with unexpected or seasonal business surges.

Several companies in the hospitality sector stated that overtime limits risk reducing service quality and customer satisfaction. Transport companies also complained about lost sales opportunities, while manufacturing firms noted that overtime restrictions could lead to product delivery delays.