Open AccessOtsukaresamadeshita!: A Critical Analysis of Japan's Toxic Work Culture
Author(s) -
Yusy Widarahhesty
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
international journal of east asian studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2462-2257
pISSN - 2232-0679
DOI - 10.22452/ijeas.vol9no1.3
Subject(s) - salary , ethnography , work (physics) , overwork , gender studies , spiritualism , sociology , power (physics) , political science , medicine , labour economics , economics , anthropology , law , engineering , alternative medicine , mechanical engineering , physics , pathology , quantum mechanics
Japan is known for its excessive work culture and dedication to work, which led the world to view the country as a ‘workaholic’. The ‘white collar heroes’ or locally known as the ‘salary man’ have been credited with boosting the Japanese economy, at the expense of their own lives. Approximately 1,949 work-related deaths and suicide attempts were recorded in 2019, all due to overwork. This paper analyses the Japanese work culture from the biopolitical power relations and discourse theory using an ethnography approach and participant observation methodology.