I enjoy social media because we can throw out memes and random pictures and end up with some interesting discussions instead. A few days ago we posted an image of tired (or possibly drunk) Japanese salarymen riding the train home after a night of working hard (or drinking hard, or both), which caused some discussion on our Facebook page. I decided to do an “ask me anything” post, taking questions about Japan’s work culture, since I’ve run a company here for so long. Let’s get started…
Describe Japan’s work culture. What laws labor laws exist?
Japan is a mature market economy with a very good legal system that sets labor standards which companies (including J-List) follow. Everything from hours worked to required lunch breaks to how overtime must be calculated and paid are set down in law.
Why do Japanese work so much? What is the Japanese government doing to improve things?
It’s honestly part of the culture, and one of the defining characteristics of the Japanese to consider hard work a default state. From junior high school, where the pressures of society start to kick in in earnest, Japanese are expected to ganbaru (to do their best, to give their all), and this naturally continues into their professional lives. During Japan’s era of rapid economic growth, work was everything.
J-List’s DVD buyer Tomo explained it to me like this: “Because Japan is a small island filled with people, no one could get away with being lazy, smoking or drinking coffee instead of working, like they could in a large country like Russia. Our other coworkers would figure it out immediately, so we always chose to work hard, to keep from letting the others in our company down.”
It’s actually gotten better over the last 30 years, as Japanese have asked themselves whether they really want to live in a society where work is the only thing that’s important, all so families can live in tiny “rabbit hutch” apartments? Government policies started focusing on getting people to embrace leisure, and many new public holidays were added, to improve family life as well as aid the economy (since people spend more when they have time for hobbies).
Two policies that have helped have been the “Happy Monday System” which moves holidays that fall on weekends to the next Monday (so they won’t be lost to workers, as they used to be), and Premium Friday, a campaign to end work at 3:00 pm on the last Friday of the month.
What are “black companies”?
One big negative force in Japan’s work culture today are burakku kigyo or “black companies” that hire more workers than they need then abuse them as much as possible, for example making them work unpaid overtime, with the expectation that most will quit. In the age of “SNS” (what social media is called in Japan), these companies can sometimes become quite infamous thanks to the Internet.
Doesn’t Japan have the highest suicide rate in the world? Does overwork contribute to this?
Japan’s suicide rate is high, but isn’t even in the top ten for countries (it’s currently ranked #18 after Ukraine and Russia). There are many reasons, and overwork does play a role. One famous case was a 24-year-old new hire at advertising company Denso who was worked so hard by her bosses that she took her own life. A lot of changes have come to the labor laws as a result of this tragedy.
Do Japanese companies have unions?
Some industries do have unions which represent the views of workers in salary negotiations. Unions can appear quite bizarre when viewed from the West, however, staging pre-scripted “spring labor offensives” in which they demonstrate loudly for better pay and working conditions, even though everything is already decided ahead of time. In the end, labor unions and companies are quite cooperative with each other in Japan.
What are salaries like in Japan?
Obviously it would depend on the industry and the age of the person, but they range from $35,000 in the 20s through $70,000 in the 50s, on average and at 2017 exchanage rates. As has been discussed before by me, salaries in the anime industry can be frightfully low (though hopefully they’ve ticked up since this graphic was last updated). The most in-demand fields are technical jobs, and here’s a post I made for anyone with these skills who’s interested in working in Japan.
Salaries are always paid once a month, on the 25th of the month, which is why I always advise those planning a visit to Tokyo to try to experience Akihabara on the Sunday after the 25th of the money, when everyone is extra punch-drunk from spending money on figures and other items. In addition to salaries, Japanese workers get significant bonuses twice a year, which rise and fall with company performance.
I heard Japanese employees go drinking as a group often? Why do they do this?
It’s one of my favorite parts of Japanese work culture, coworkers going for drinks casually, or else as a formal event, with everyone from a certain department showing up to commemorate something important, like a colleague receiving a promotion. It’s just a fun way to promote social bonding while eating and drinking on the company’s dime. Just this Friday, the J-List staff will be gathering at a local restaurant holding a farewell party for a longtime employee who’s quitting to have a baby.
Do I have to drink?
Once upon a time, there might have been some pressure for non-alcohol drinkers to imbibe at work-related social events. These days are long past, and anyone who’s drinking cola or oolong tea has sent a signal to everyone else that they won’t drink alcohol, which is respected.
Got any more questions about Japan’s work culture? Ask us on Twitter!
J-List has always strived to be your “friend in Japan,” bringing all kinds of products to you, from delicious snacks to fun cosplay items and the best visual novels ever. But our sexy products always seem to define us, and the new products we’ve posted lately are especially amazing. Browse the new 18+ products here!
