The Japanese prime minister has revealed she typically sleeps for just two hours each night and asks aides to meet at 3am, sparking fresh concern in a country known for overworking and high levels of burnout.
Sanae Takaichi revealed she gets by on minimal sleep following public backlash last week when she summoned aides to a meeting in the early hours in Tokyo, hours before an appearance before parliament.
She drew criticism for the meeting on Friday, referred to by the Japanese media as the “3am study session”, which came just six hours before a budget committee hearing was due to start.
Overworking is a sensitive topic in Japan, where concerns are growing regarding fatigue and mental health. Worries have been raised over rising cases of karoshi, which means “death from overwork”. It has been blamed for a spate of deaths in recent years.
Speaking at a legislative committee hearing this week, Ms Takaichi told MPs: “I sleep about two hours now, four hours at the longest. It’s probably bad for my skin.”
Her comments came in response to a question on how she planned to tackle Japan’s notoriously long working hours, according to The Guardian.
Ms Takaichi became Japan’s first-ever female prime minister in October, after she had promised to “work, work, work, work and work”.
The prime minister, who has not yet moved into her official residence, has claimed that her fax machine at home was jammed, so she travelled to the residence in the early hours to review briefing materials ahead of the 9am meeting.
But the episode has underlined the failure of successive Japanese governments to address the country’s brutal work culture, with employees asked to work long hours before socialising with colleagues in the evening.
Ms Takaichi’s government is reportedly discussing raising a cap on overtime, prompting concerns that workers will be expected to work even longer hours – but the prime minister vowed that any changes would prioritise workers’ health.
“If we can create a situation where people can properly balance childcare and caregiving responsibilities according to their wishes, and also be able to work, enjoy leisure time, and relax – that would be ideal,” she said.
Former prime minister Yoshihiko Noda, who now leads the main opposition party, described Ms Takaichi’s 3am meeting as “crazy”, saying that it is “fine for her to work, but she should not be getting other people involved”.
He added in an interview, according to the New York Times: “Everyone is in bed at that time of day. It’s a very sad attitude for the top leader of the country to show.”
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