The Country Where It Is Illegal Not to Take a Holiday

Economy Jamie Simon
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At Tokyo, a law is discussed to compel employees to stay away from work at least five days a year. It’s not just an attempt to increase the productivity of workers, it’s a national problem: people no longer have time for personal life, fewer children are born and there are more cases of suicide and deaths by exhaustion recorded.

Japanese law is almost the last one in the world for day statutory holidays. A rookie is entitled to just 10 days a year, and after each additional year of experience, another day of off is added. Although the number is very low, the Japanese do not take half the number of days they are entitled, so it could become illegal not to take your leave in Japan.

Refusal of leave is only part of the problem, the other being excessive overtime. Japanese Studies show that citizens even work for 14 hours a day. The main reason for this lifestyle is the Japanese fear that he might lose his job.

The labor market went in the direction of long hours and years without leave in the 70s, in the full economic boom, when the number of those working over 60 hours a week exploded. At that time it appeared the Japanese word “karoshi” – death by exhaustion.

Japan is known for years for an epidemic of suicides. More than 30,000 cases were registered only in 2011, and investigators claim that a third is due to stress at work.

People do not want families and children because they don’t have time for it anyway. Birth rate falls rapidly year by year and in 2014 reached a new record, while the death rate climbs rapidly.

It is estimated that by 2050, Japan’s population will be lower by 30 million people. Already a quarter of the population is over 65 and the proportion could rise to 40% by 2060 – the aging process exceeds by far that of developed economies in the West.