Why Japan wants its citizens to try a 4-day workweek

The government launched a ‘work style reform’ campaign that promotes shorter hours and other flexible arrangements along with overtime limits and paid annual leave. Japan, a nation so hardworking its language has a term for literally working oneself to death, is trying to address a worrisome labor shortage by coaxing more people and companies to adopt four-day workweeks.The Japanese government first expressed support for a shorter working week in 2021, after lawmakers endorsed the idea. The concept has been slow to catch on, however; about 8% of companies in Japan allow employees to take three or more days off per week, while 7% give their workers the legally mandated one day off, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare.Hoping to produce more takers, especially among small and medium-size businesses, the government launched a “work style reform” campaign that promotes shorter hours and other flexible arrangements along with overtime limits and paid annual leave. The labor ministry recently started offering free consulting, grants, and a growing library of success stories as further motivation.“By realizing a society in which workers can choose from a variety of working styles based on their circumstances, we aim to create a virtuous cycle of growth and distribution and enable each and every worker to have a better outlook for the future,” states a ministry website about the hatarakikata kaikaku campaign, which translates to “innovating how we work.”The... Continue reading at 'Fast Company'

[ Fast Company | 2024-09-02 14:15:57 UTC ]
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Japan's Media Do Buys Firebrand

Firebrand Technologies has been acquired by Media Do International, the U.S. subsidiary of Tokyo-based Media Do Ltd., a major e-book distributor. Firebrand founder Fran Toolan will remain CEO for at least the next three years. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-02-02 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Reading My Bliss: How 20-Year-Old Manga Helps Get Me Through the Day

Bliss is rare these days. Enjoy it. For me, that means burying myself in twenty-year-old manga to get through the day. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2021-01-28 11:37:00 UTC ]
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EA founded a new studio to work on the long-awaited 'Skate 4'

EA has formed a new studio to develop the next Skate game. On Wednesday, the publisher announced the existence of Full Circle, which, like previous Skate developer Black Box, will be based out of Vancouver, Canada. EA has tapped Daniel McCulloch, who... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2021-01-27 17:56:08 UTC ]
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Goodings to present BBC Radio 4 show on Max Perkins

Chair of Virago Lennie Goodings is presenting a radio programme about legendary editor Max Perkins and editor relationships today for BBC Radio 4, with guests including Sarah Churchwell, Emma Paterson, Colm Toibin and Linda Grant. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-25 02:43:10 UTC ]
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Elizabeth Day and Johny Pitts to present 'Open Book'

Elizabeth Day and Johny Pitts are to be the new presenters of BBC Radio 4’s "Open Book" programme.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-14 20:35:02 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury Continuum to publish Bryant's 'modern-day Letter from America’

Bloomsbury Continuum has acquired When America Stopped Being Great by BBC New York correspondent Nick Bryant. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-11 12:55:05 UTC ]
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Industry Stock Prices Fell 4% in 2020

A second-half rally helped to limit the decline of the Publishers Weekly Stock Index to 4% in 2020, as four of the seven companies on the PWSI managed to post an increase in their stock prices compared to the beginning of the year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-01-05 05:00:00 UTC ]
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More bookshops to close doors as further areas enter Tier 4

More areas in England will be added to Tier 4 from Boxing Day, with non-essential shops closing their doors, the government has announced. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-23 05:28:56 UTC ]
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Dismay for bookshops as Tier 4 forces pre-Christmas closures

Bookshops in London and the south-east have reacted with dismay after being forced to close their physical premises from end of play on Saturday (19th December), with just a few hours' notice. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-21 07:04:19 UTC ]
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The perfect science fiction, fantasy and genre-bending tales for the chilly days ahead

Winter takes center stage in books by George R.R. Martin, Peter Hoeg, Tove Jannson, Tanya Tagaq and more Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-12-18 14:00:00 UTC ]
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'I've never felt less festive': the art of writing Christmas novels, 365 days a year

Drinking sherry, bingeing Downton Abbey ... how authors keep up the spirit of the season, even when writing during heatwaves and a nightmarish ChristmasChristmas novels are not a new phenomenon. Charles Dickens sold out of his first print run of A Christmas Carol in days in December 1843, while... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-12-17 15:22:04 UTC ]
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P.E.I. announces 4 new COVID-19 cases; restrictions on schools, restaurants, shopping

Prince Edward Island has decided that restaurants will be shut to indoor dining, organized sports will be suspended and libraries and gyms will close for at least the next two weeks in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2020-12-06 22:51:28 UTC ]
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BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Gaiman's fairytale to be released as digital download

BBC Audio will release the BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Sleeper and the Spindle as a digital download in January 2021, with an exclusive introduction from the author.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-30 14:33:55 UTC ]
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Obama Memoir Sells 887,000 Copies on Day One

Barack Obama's first presidential memoir, 'A Promised Land,' sold more than 887,000 units in all formats and editions in the U.S. and Canada on its first day on sale, its publisher said. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-11-19 05:00:00 UTC ]
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'Strong' first-day sales of Obama memoir online, says Waterstones

Waterstones has seen "strong" online orders for A Promised Land (Viking), with the title also at number one in Amazon's bestseller charts. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-18 06:17:45 UTC ]
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Oprah's Interview with Obama Airs on Publication Day

Oprah Winfrey's interview with Barack Obama premieres on Apple TV+ on Tuesday morning, just as copies of the hotly anticipated former president's memoir lands on bookstore shelves around the world. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-11-16 05:00:00 UTC ]
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The Skillset Podcast #4: Academic Libraries in the Wake of Covid-19 with Clemson University’s Christopher Cox

Host David Lankes catches up with Christopher Cox, Dean of Libraries at Clemson University, to talk about the lessons Clemson—and academic libraries more broadly—are learning in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-11-06 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Retail site Bookshop makes £65k sales on UK launch day

New online retailer Bookshop.org secured sales of around £65,000 in its first day, making £16,000 for indies. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-02 12:21:42 UTC ]
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4 higher education experts on how COVID-19 is upending the college experience

Leaders from 2U, Global Citizen Year, Minerva, and Pearson reveal which elements of the higher-ed ecosystem are getting stronger and which are poised to collapse. For Fast Company’s Shape of Tomorrow series, we’re asking business leaders to share their inside perspective on how the COVID-19 era... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2020-10-27 07:00:15 UTC ]
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This Inuit author named 4 of Saturn's moons. Here's what he wants to name next

In 2000, children's author Michael Kusugak named a group of Saturn's many moons. Twenty years later, he's looking to rename the street near his house. Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2020-10-23 19:59:11 UTC ]
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