Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, has come under renewed scrutiny after admitting she usually sleeps for only two hours a night and often asks her aides to meet at 3am. The revelation has deepened concerns in a country already notorious for overwork and rising burnout.
Sanae Takaichi spoke about her minimal sleep routine after a wave of criticism last week when she called staff to an early morning meeting in Tokyo shortly before a scheduled appearance in parliament. Japanese media dubbed the gathering the «3am study session». It took place barely six hours before a budget committee hearing.
Death from overworking
Work-related exhaustion is a sensitive subject in Japan, where growing attention is being paid to mental health and fatigue. There is particular alarm over increasing cases of karoshi, a term meaning «death from overwork», which has been linked to several fatalities in recent years.
Addressing a legislative committee this week, Ms Takaichi told MPs:
«I sleep about two hours now, four hours at the longest. It is probably bad for my skin.»
Her answer came after she was asked how she planned to address Japan’s entrenched culture of long working hours.
Ms Takaichi became Japan’s first woman to lead the government in October after pledging to «work work work work and work». She has not yet moved into the official residence and said she went there in the early hours because her home fax machine was jammed and she needed to read briefing papers ahead of the 9am meeting.
Negative example
The episode has highlighted the failure of successive governments to reform Japan’s harsh working environment, where long days are often followed by compulsory socialising with colleagues. Reports suggest her government is considering raising the cap on overtime, prompting fears that employees will face even longer hours. Ms Takaichi insisted that any changes would put workers’ wellbeing first.
She said: «If we can create a situation where people can balance childcare and caregiving as they wish and still be able to work enjoy leisure time and rest, that would be ideal.»
Former prime minister Yoshihiko Noda, now leader of the main opposition party, called the 3am meeting «crazy». He said it was «fine for her to work, but she should not be getting other people involved». Speaking to the New York Times he added:
«Everyone is in bed at that time of day. It is a very sad attitude for the top leader of the country to show.»
