Japanese workers will have a break at 3pm on Friday in 2017.

The Japanese government and businesses have decided to launch a campaign to allow workers to take an early weekend off, at 3 p.m. on the last Friday of every month.

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In Japan, the word “karoshi” refers to death from overwork. A recent government study found that one in five workers are at risk of the condition. In an effort to curb overwork and boost consumption, businesses and the government have launched a “Premium Friday” campaign, scheduled to begin on February 24.

Although it is not yet known how many companies will participate, Japan's largest business lobby, Keidanren, has sent a letter to more than 1,300 member companies and encouraged businesses to participate.

Japan is the country with the highest overtime rate in the G7 group (Graphic: Bloomberg)

However, those who want to change Japan's rigid working methods face many difficulties.

Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which is pushing the idea, has yet to decide whether its officials will join the campaign. However, Minister Hiroshige Seko said: "I am asking secretaries not to make any appointments after 3pm on the first Premium Friday."

Toshihiro Nagahama, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute in Tokyo, said there is a clear relationship between leisure time, holidays and consumption. If most workers, including those at small and midsize companies, participate in the campaign, personal consumption could increase by about 124 billion yen ($1.5 billion) on each Premium Friday, he calculated.

This could boost private consumption, which accounts for about 60% of the economy.

Things Japanese people want to do on Premium Friday (Graphics: Kim Ngan)

However, Nagahama said he was concerned that workers at smaller companies might find it difficult to leave work early, or would simply work overtime on other days. Those were limitations of the campaign.

Japanese workers typically take only half of their annual leave. To force people to take time off, the government has implemented a 16-day holiday system, more than some countries, including the United States and France.

According to Zing