Japan's top business lobby calls for 4-day workweek in virus fight

What they mean, of course, is 4 days of PAID work per week, and then another 2 1/2 days of unpaid 'service overtime,' I'm sure.

OK, 8 am to 11pm... that's 15 hours per day x 4 = 60 hours.

Gambare!

Good news. But it would be better news if they were being truely progressive and urging the move for general quality of life - work-life balance..

OK, 8 am to 11pm... that's 15 hours per day x 4 = 60 hours.

Gambare!

Very imaginative Peter,

I could even label it fake news.

All this will do is encourage people to work even longer hours.

Talk about being slow to react - about 10 years too slow in this case!

‘Telework’ is clearly going to be the new buzz word in Japan, a bit like ‘flex time’ has been in recent years.

In the case of many companies, ‘flex time’ just means you can go to the dentist during work hours and make it up the next day (if your boss approves it!) - it doesn’t mean you can flexibly manage your schedule yourself.

‘Telework’ will just become another layer of bureaucracy. Travel time will become ‘telework’ time. You want ‘paid holiday’ because you need to be at home with the kids? Request denied - please telework from home.

One Saturday every month will become ‘telework day’. Etc.

Hopefully it’s a step in the right direction, but ‘Telework’ isn’t going to be what it’s supposed to be in Japan - because there’s just too much in built bureaucracy and rigidity for it to be properly embraced.

’Telework’ will be made to fit to Japanese business culture rather than the other way round.

Premium Thurzudays!

I don't mind doing a 10hr workday if I can get extra day off. I already do well over 10hrs a day already.

4 days work at office and 1 day work from home will be good in so many ways.

Well, Mirai, I have finally found something I can agree with you on. I hate giving you so many down votes, because I love your name so much, I named one of my daughters the same. But you have constantly been a Debbie Downer on this whole COVID-19 mess, always trying to make everyone stay home for the next six months, and that doesn't make any sense. And yet, here, you advocate for working 10 hour days to get an extra day off. I can live with that. But, how can we work ten hour days if we have to stay home all the time? I'm not quite sure you are thinking everything through.

I'm going to assume that by the time they make a decision on this, the pandemic will be long over. Have they made a decision on the school year starting in September yet? How about a 4 day school week too? Too 'hasty'?

A four day work week and work till your 75! Gu jobu Japan!

I am on a 4 day week, due to my company cutting costs and do not see any fall in productivity.

I do end up working all 5 days, but it gives me the flexibility to do stuff I normally wouldn't .

I say go for it!!!

When I came to Japan everybody worked a six-day week and they managed to change this to a five-day week so I don't see why they should not do a four-day week just as easily.

The federation recommended the introduction of a four-day workweek and the promotion of teleworking as well as flexible business hours and working shifts as ways to ease congestion on public transportation.

The article and almost all the comments here are on the assumption that everybody is a permanent worker which isn't the case there are part time, temporary and contract working at these large keidanren member companies who are paid by the hour and even with the 5 day work make far less, a 4 day work week will definitely drive them below the poverty line.

I don't see how it is a plus to the economy. With no chinese tourist to

boost spending and the economy.

Some good laughs in the story.

pachinko parlors ... reducing the volume of in-store music so people do not need to speak loudly to each other at close proximity.

How about the govt just outlaws you MFs completely?

Wtf do they need the music so loud in the first place? Because people who enter are already deaf?

4 day work weeks would be bearable.

A four day work week?

Why not!