日本擬告別加班文化
Japan’s salarymen are saying sayonara to the country’s culture of overwork — with the backing of prime minister Shinzo Abe.
日本上班族將要對該國的過度工作文化說再見——在首相安倍晉三(Shinzo Abe)的支持下。Long days in the office followed by long nights drinking with colleagues are as much a symbol of Japan as sushi or manga comics. But the culture has been blamed for several of the country’s ills, from its dearth of babies to lacklustre productivity, while a tight labour market is shifting the balance of power from companies to workers.
在辦公室工作一整天后、晚上再與同事們一起泡吧喝酒，這種生活模式早已成爲日本的象徵，就像日本壽司和日本漫畫一樣。但這種文化被指加劇日本的種種弊病，從缺乏嬰兒到生產率低下，同時緊缺的勞動力市場意味着實力平衡正從企業轉向工人。
So, in a break with the past, Japan Inc is making a virtue of what is normal practice elsewhere in the world.
因此，“日本公司”告別傳統，將世界其它地方的正常做法列爲一種美德。
Trading house Itochu hopes to lure new graduates with earlier starting and finishing times, while printer maker Ricoh is banning work after 8pm. Fast Retailing, operator of the Uniqlo clothing chain, is looking to introduce a four-hour day for employees who want a better work-life balance.
貿易公司伊藤忠商事(Itochu)希望以更早的上下班時間來吸引應屆畢業生，而打印機制造商理光(Ricoh)禁止晚上8點以後工作。優衣庫(Uniqlo)服裝連鎖店的運營商迅銷(Fast Retailing)正醞釀推出四小時工作日，迎合那些想要更好平衡工作與生活的員工。“Even if working hours are short, we will pay more to the employee who produces a higher result. Long hours of work do not necessarily lead to higher performance,” said Tadashi Yanai, chief executive of Fast Retailing.
“即使工作時間很短，但我們將向業績較高的員工支付更多薪酬。長時間的工作不一定帶來更高業績，”迅銷總裁柳井正(Tadashi Yanai)表示。Robot maker Fanuc, meanwhile, plans to woo recruits to its “inconvenient” headquarters at the foot of Mount Fuji by expanding its gym, and building a new tennis court and baseball field.
與此同時，機器人制造商發那科(Fanuc)爲了吸引新員工到其位於富士山腳下的“不方便”的總部工作，計劃擴大其健身房，並修建新的網球場和棒球場。The corporate efforts to improve conditions chime with Mr Abe’s push to shake up the labour market, seen as a key plank of his growth agenda. And civil servants will also get a break.
企業改善條件的努力，與安倍晉三整頓勞動力市場的舉措（被視爲他的增長議程的一個重要支柱）是契合的。公務員也將得到休息。Health ministry staff will be banned from working after 10pm from October after an earlier attempt to clear offices by switching off the lights failed.
從今年10月起，厚生勞動省的工作人員將被禁止在晚上10點以後工作，此前一項通過關燈來迫使人們下班的企圖以失敗告終。The government last week also submitted a bill making it mandatory for workers to take at least five days of paid holiday a year.
政府上週還提交了一項議案，強制工人每年至少帶薪休假五天。Past attempts in Japan to improve the working environment have largely failed. Japan still has instances of karoshi — death by overwork — and many employees still feel guilty leaving early.
以往日本改善工作環境的企圖大多失敗。日本仍然有不少過勞死（因過度工作致死）的病例，同時許多員工仍對準時下班感到內疚。Japanese employees only took up half their holiday entitlement last year, unlike the French and Germans who used all their allowance, according to online travel agency Expedia. The only country ranked lower is South Korea.
根據在線旅行社Expedia的調研，與用足假期的法國人和德國人不同，去年日本員工只利用了一半的假期權利。排名更低的只有韓國。
