The government has been encouraging companies to adopt a four-day work week since 2021. However, the Associated Press have reported that only about 8 percent of companies have implemented the policy.

The Japanese government is trying to encourage more businesses to adopt a four-day workweek due to a labor shortage in the country, which faces a potential shortage of a staggering 1 million ...

Japan has ramped up its push for companies to adopt a four-day workweek, but those efforts face steep challenges in a country famous for its workaholic culture.

Out of 61 UK companies that took part in a six-month trial for a four-day workweek in 2022, 54 continued the shortened week a year later, and 31 said they would do so permanently.

This fie photo shows commuters at Ueno Station in Tokyo's Taito ward. Tokyo will offer city employees a four-day work week starting in April 2025.

The Japanese government first officially endorsed the idea of a four-day week in 2021, offering free consulting and grants to motivate businesses to help employees achieve a better work-life balance.

But now, Japan is attempting to address a growing labour shortage by encouraging the four-day work week. The Japanese government first endorsed this idea in 2021, but uptake has been slow.

The concept has been slow to catch on, however; about 8% of companies in Japan allow employees to take three or more days off per week, while 7% give their workers the legally mandated one day off ...

It is being led by a group called ‘4 Day Week Global’, which started off as a major campaign in Germany in late 2023, and has already seen success in places like Spain, Portugal, and the UK.