[Japan] Workers took 62 per cent of their paid leave in 2022

A recent government survey has revealed that Japan’s private-sector workers used more of their paid leave in 2022, reaching 62.1 per cent on average or 10.9 out of 17.6 days of the time off they were entitled to, The Japan Times reports.

The results come as Japan increases efforts to reduce overwork.

The total ratio was a record high - up 3.8 percentage points from the previous year - however, the government still has a considerable way to go if it hopes to achieve its goal of 70 per cent or more by 2025.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's General Survey on Working Conditions was conducted in January. It solicited responses from 6,421 private firms with 30 full-time employees or more, of which 3,768 reportedly gave valid answers.

By company size, the rate stood at 65.6 per cent for firms with 1,000 employees or more, compared with 57.1 per cent for those with 30 to 99 workers, according to the survey which was released on October 31.

By industry, post offices and other businesses offering multiple services reportedly had the highest rate of paid leave used at 74.8 per cent, while the food and accommodation services industry was the lowest at 49.1 per cent.

As part of efforts to address Japan's infamously demanding work culture, the government has set a target of increasing the take-up of its so-called "work-interval system," which sets a standard number of hours between the end of a working day and the start of the next, to 15 per cent of companies or more by 2025.

However, the survey found that only 6 per cent of firms had so far introduced the system.

In April this year, a survey by travel firm Expedia found that workers in Japan used 60 per cent of their paid leave last year, placing Japan second-to-last - only above the US - in an international ranking on the rate of paid leave uptake. The survey reportedly covered 16 countries and regions including South Korea, Germany and Taiwan.

Source: The Japan Times

A recent government survey has revealed that Japan’s private-sector workers used more of their paid leave in 2022, reaching 62.1 per cent on average or 10.9 out of 17.6 days of the time off they were entitled to, The Japan Times reports.

The results come as Japan increases efforts to reduce overwork.

The total ratio was a record high - up 3.8 percentage points from the previous year - however, the government still has a considerable way to go if it hopes to achieve its goal of 70 per cent or more by 2025.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's General Survey on Working Conditions was conducted in January. It solicited responses from 6,421 private firms with 30 full-time employees or more, of which 3,768 reportedly gave valid answers.

By company size, the rate stood at 65.6 per cent for firms with 1,000 employees or more, compared with 57.1 per cent for those with 30 to 99 workers, according to the survey which was released on October 31.

By industry, post offices and other businesses offering multiple services reportedly had the highest rate of paid leave used at 74.8 per cent, while the food and accommodation services industry was the lowest at 49.1 per cent.

As part of efforts to address Japan's infamously demanding work culture, the government has set a target of increasing the take-up of its so-called "work-interval system," which sets a standard number of hours between the end of a working day and the start of the next, to 15 per cent of companies or more by 2025.

However, the survey found that only 6 per cent of firms had so far introduced the system.

In April this year, a survey by travel firm Expedia found that workers in Japan used 60 per cent of their paid leave last year, placing Japan second-to-last - only above the US - in an international ranking on the rate of paid leave uptake. The survey reportedly covered 16 countries and regions including South Korea, Germany and Taiwan.

Source: The Japan Times