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

FILE - Commuters walk in a passageway during a rush hour at Shinagawa Station in Tokyo, Feb. 14, 2024. FILE - A Nissan Motor Co. factory worker checks an engine on an assembly line at its plant in Yokohama, Japan, near Tokyo, Aug. 2, 2017. Kanako Ogino, president of Tokyo-based NS Group, speaks during an interview, July 25, 2024. FILE - Workers arrange fish during an auction at Hisanohama Port in Iwaki, Japan, Oct. 19, 2023.

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.