Japan’s prime minister will spend Friday afternoon meditating while staff at some of the country’s biggest firms are also quitting…
TOKYO —
Japan’s prime minister will spend Friday afternoon meditating while staff at some of the country’s biggest firms are also quitting work early—in time for a bit of shopping or maybe a boozy train ride.
Welcome to Premium Friday, Japan’s latest bid to tackle two perennial problems—sluggish consumer spending and notoriously long working hours blamed for a national health crisis known as “karoshi,” or death from overwork.
The work-life balance campaign, which launches this week, calls on employers to let staff off around 3 p.m. on the last Friday of every month.
Major firms such as automakers Nissan and Toyota, beverage giant Suntory and brokerage Nomura are taking part in the government-backed scheme.
Thousands of other firms are offering promotions to workers who will have a bit of extra time on Fridays.
Mobile carrier SoftBank is letting staff quit early and, later this year, will be putting an extra 10,000 yen in their pockets.
One railway operator is offering a special train ride with beer and bento boxes, while off-early workers can also get discounts on everything from matchmaking services to cancer checks.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be taking it down a notch by spending the afternoon at a Zen meditation temple, followed by a music concert.
