So much so, that some occasionally die from it.

也是因為如此，有些人甚至為此犧牲生命

Karoshi is a term that means death by overwork.

過勞死是日本人稱呼因工作過度而死亡的人

So why are people working so hard? And can it be fixed?

為什麼人們要這麼努力工作？有什麼辦法可以改進嗎？

Japan has some of the longest working hours in the world.

以世界各國而言，日本可說是工作時數最長的國家

Nearly a quarter of Japanese companies have their employees work more than 80 hours of overtime per month.

在日本，將近有 1/4 的公司讓員工每個月加班超過 80 小時

Those extra hours are often unpaid.

而超時工作並沒有加班費

Today, Japan's corporate culture is driven by the so-called salaryman.

組成現今日本的公司文化主要來自支薪族

The salaryman is defined by his loyalty to his company and expected to spend his entire career working for the same firm.

支薪族的意思是員工必須對公司忠誠，並且預期員工將終身只為同一間公司工作

Not only does he work long hours in the office, but it's also assumed he'll participate in after-work activities too, like drinking with colleagues.

這不僅表示長時間在辦公室工作，也意味著他應該參加下班後的公司活動，包括跟同事喝酒

And they're not taking enough time off.

員工並沒有足夠時間休息

In 2017, one survey found that despite being entitled to 20 days off per year, Japanese workers left 10 of those days unused - topping every other country in the survey.

2017 年的問卷調查指出，即使法規訂定一年有 20 天休假，日本員工通常還有 10 天休假沒使用，這數字超過問卷上的其他國家

You don't have to be in the confines of corporate walls to feel the impact of its work culture.

你不需要去日本公司上班就能感受該國的辦公室文化

It's 3am Thursday morning right now in Tokyo, I'm in the area of Ginza.

現在是東京週四凌晨 3 點，我現在人就站在銀座

Every few minutes I see a man wearing a suit, holding a briefcase.

我每幾分鐘就看到一名身穿西裝，拿著公事包的上班族經過

The nation's work ethic dates back to what's referred to as Japan's economic miracle, which was its dramatic economic growth beginning in the 1950s, which propelled it to become the world's second-largest economy.

這國家的公司文化最早可追溯至日本經濟奇蹟時代，約莫在 1950 年代起，日本經濟開始大幅成長，促使日本成為世界第二大經濟體

Inside Japan's corporations, the culture emphasizes the success of a company as a whole to be more important than any single individual, which might explain why one study found that 63% of Japanese felt guilty for taking paid leave.

在日本公司內部，該文化強調公司的成功來自整體，因此公司比個人更為重要。這可能也解釋為何另一個研究發現， 63% 的日本人對於放有薪假感到罪惡

But perhaps more concerning is this: Long work hours don't necessarily mean high productivity.

但更令人在意的是工作超時並不一定等同於高生產力

In fact, Japan has the lowest productivity amongst the G7 nations.

事實上，日本在 G7 工業國當中生產力最低

Earlier I mentioned the term karoshi - it means death by overwork.

我稍早提到「過勞死」，便是因為過度工作疲勞而死

It's legally recognized by the government and usually is marked by a heart attack, stroke or suicide due to stress.

日本官方正式認可該名詞，並且特別強調該死因源自工作壓力所引發的心肌梗塞、中風或是自殺

There's hundreds of cases of karoshi reported annually, although some argue these cases are underreported and that the real number could exceed that by up to 10 times.

每年有上百件過勞死案例，雖然有爭議說尚有部分案例未被報導，其實實際數字應該是 10 倍之多

An employee of the advertising firm Dentsu jumped to her death in 2015.

2015 年發生一起日本電通廣告公司一名員工跳樓自殺身亡的案例

The cause was said to have been depression caused by overwork.

該名員工死亡的原因是因為超時工作所導致的憂鬱症狀

The case generated widespread attention and renewed calls to change the long working hours and illegal unpaid overtime highly common in Japan.

該起案件引發眾多關注，並再次呼籲改善超時工作以及日本普遍存在的非法無薪超時工作

The firm was fined for violating labor standards because she was reportedly forced to work more than 100 hours of overtime per month.

該公司違反對待勞工準則而需繳交罰款，因為有報導指出該名員工被迫每個月加班超過 100 小時

The company's CEO even resigned over the controversy.

該公司的執行長更為此辭職下台

After the death, Dentsu made some changes within the company.

該起事件爆發後，日本電通公司內部做了些許調整

One of them?

其中一項新規定是什麼呢？

The lights in the office now turn off at 10pm every night in an effort to force employees to leave.

現在辦公室每晚 10 點後就會關燈，強迫員工下班

Both the government and companies are now actively trying to reduce the number of working hours here.

現在政府和企業共同努力積極推出方案，以減少員工工作時數

And there are some early signs of hope.

現在更出現一些帶來希望之光

Japan's government has considered several initiatives to curb the number of hours spent at the office, including making it mandatory to take at least five vacation days a year and requiring a “rest” period between the end of one day and the start of another.

日本政府正研議幾項方案，以變相吸收員工的上班時數，包括強制規定員工一年至少請 5 次短期休假，並且要求前後次休假須隔一段期間

In 2016, a new holiday “Mountain Day” was started, bringing Japan's number of annual public holidays to 16.

2016 年，國定節日「山之日」正式啟動，將增加日本國定假日天數至 16 天

And in 2017, the government launched an initiative called Premium Fridays, in which it encouraged companies to allow their employees to leave at 3pm on the last Friday of the month, promoting consumer spending and less time in the office.

2017 年，政府推動一項「超值星期五」方案，鼓勵公司允許員工每個月最後一個星期五下午 3 點下班，以促進員工多花時間消費和少花時間在辦公室

But one study found that less than 4% of employees in Japan actually left early on the first Premium Friday.

但研究顯示不到 4% 的日本員工在超值星期五當天，真的提早離開辦公室

Which is why despite these initiatives, a cultural challenge still looms.

這也說明雖然有這些方案，但敢於挑戰公司文化的人仍舊不多

Since Japan's culture emphasizes the group over the individual, well, no one wants to be the first one to leave the office.

由於日本文化強調團體優於個人，所以沒有人願意當第一個離開辦公室的人

And there's another reason that there's pressure on people to work hard.

還有另一個迫使人們必須努力工作的原因

Japan's economy is in danger.

日本的經濟存在危機

And in order to maintain its massive size, Japan needs to put in the hours.

為了維持目前的經濟規模，日本需要在工作時數上多著墨

Japan lost its spot as the world's second-largest economy to China in 2011, a title that it had previously held for 42 years.

日本在 2011 年輸給中國大陸，失去身為世界第二大經濟體的地位，日本擁有該頭銜已有 42 年之久

Japan is dealing with a labor crisis.

日本政府正在處理勞工危機

Its population is aging fast and its birth rate is in decline.

人口不僅急速老化，而且出生率下降

That means its total population is going down.

這表示人口總數正在下滑

And in the next 50 years, it's projected to shrink by nearly a third.

接下來的 50 年，日本人口預測將緊縮將近 1/3

The population is expected to go from 127 million in 2015, to just 88 million by 2065.

人口將從 2015 年的 1 億 2 千 7 百萬持續下滑，在 2065 年將只剩下 8 千 8 百萬人口

There's two likely ways the nation can compensate for the labor shortage - immigrants or robots.

日本有兩個方式可以彌補勞工短缺：一是移民人口，另一個是機器人

Japan has always been less inclined to accept immigrants.

一直以來，日本不太可能接受外來移民人口

In fact, its percentage of foreign workers is tiny compared to other nations of large economies.

事實上，外籍勞工的比例非常少，相較於其他大型經濟體國家

So without more immigrants, it's looking to robotics to fill in the gap.

不考慮更多的外來移民人口，日本便偏向由機器人來補其缺口

Its robotics industry has spanned from hospitality to manufacturing, and now even reaching farms by creating robots that milk cows.

機器人產業遍佈各產業，包括醫院及製造業，現在更擴展到農業，製作機器人來餵養牛隻

But whether technology could open the door for a better work-life balance for Japan's workforce still remains to be seen.

然而科技是否能打開一扇窗來促進並平衡日本勞動人口的工作與生活品質，仍舊有待觀察未來發展

Hey guys, it's Uptin, thanks for watching.

哈囉，我是 Uptin，感謝收看本影片

For more of our videos, check out 'What does equal pay mean for the economy?' here.

想觀看更多影片，請點閱 ｢同工同酬對於經濟的意義」

And 'Will robots take our jobs?' here.

另外也可以點閱 ｢機器人會取代我們的工作嗎？」

We're also taking suggestions for future CNBC Explains, so leave your comments in the section below.

您的建議將做為未來本台的節目規劃，所以請不吝在下方欄位留下您的寶貴意見

And while you're at it, subscribe to our channel.

當你收看本台節目，請務必訂閱本頻道