Japan gives for the first time in its history 10 consecutive days of holiday – 28/04/2019

Japan started this spring spring holiday which exceptionally this year will give 10 days of rest to Japanese employees, known for spending long hours in the office and for phenomena such as karoshi, death due to work overload.

In an unprecedented work break in the country, millions of Japanese workers will leave their jobs between April 27 and May 6 as part of what is traditionally called Gold Week. This succession of holidays, celebrated every year on the same dates, is the longest generalized break for many Japanese and It lasts about a week.

On this occasion, several national holidays accompanied the celebrations on the occasion of the abdication of Emperor Akihito and the subsequent succession to Prince Naruhito's throne. an unusual accumulation of non-working days. "Usually, the summer holidays or the end of the year are longer than the Golden Week. It's crazy that we have so many days now"says Eita Uchida, a 24-year-old Tokyo office worker.

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The 2019 Gold Week kicked off this Saturday and includes the festivities of the Day Showa Day (April 29), the Day of Surrender (April 30), the Day of the Showa (April ascension on the throne (May 1st), the Day in memory of the Constitution (May 3rd), green day (May 4th) and children's day (May 5th).

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Monday to Friday afternoon.

May 2nd will be a vacation because Japanese law transforms any day between two holidays into another public holiday. Monday, May 6 will compensate for the holidays of the previous Sunday, a practice also common in Japan.

During the week of gold, children will not go to school and many businesses will close with the stock market, banks, hospitals and public offices. At the same time, people will be filled with tourist attractions, shopping centers, train stations, airports and restaurants. The leading travel agency in Japan, JTB Corporation, believes that a record 24.7 million Japanese will take advantage of this unusual holiday series to make trips of more than two days, something that strict Japanese labor code generally prevents.

The company predicts that 6.6 million euros will go to a foreign country, an increase of 7% over the previous year, being the most popular destinations. Hawaii, Southeast Asia and Europe.

But all that glitters is not gold, not even this long-awaited gold week. "I do not know what I'm going to do with so many holidays" says Uchida, who, like many other employees, does not plan to leave the city in anticipation of crowds of travelers. "The trains are always crowded in recent days, as are trips abroad, everyone will go to other countries and travel is much more expensive. I will stay at home"explains the young Tokyoki.

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Experts predict that these 10-day holidays will have negative effects at the same time positive in the country's economy. In a report, the economist researcher at the Japanese institute NLI Taro Saito explains that the harmful consequences of the paralyzed factories obscure the benefits that the foreseeable increase in consumption could have. As well, employees who charge hours and they work in companies that will close during the holidays You will see a significant drop in your income in April and May.. "Although it does not deteriorate, you can not expect the economy to be pulled by Golden Week." During 10 holidays, citizens' lives will work badly due to the long-term closure of hospitals, banks and government offices"says the report.

Agency EFE and 20 Minutes.

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