Japan's new PM has vowed to "work, work, work," even on two hours of sleep. Critics warn her stance could revive toxic overtime culture and reverse progress on reducing deaths from overwork.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has long cited Margaret Thatcher as one of her political role models.
The former, long-serving British PM was a dyed-in-the-wool conservative with strongly held opinions on economic policy, national security, immigration and countless other right-of-center positions that Takaichi shares.
Famously, the late British prime minister's reputation was in part built in her remarkable capacity for work and her insistence that she only needed four hours of sleep a night.
Takaichi has the same disdain for putting her feet up and has indicated that she expects the same level of commitment from her ministers and the Japanese working population — and that is ringing alarm bells in some quarters.
After being named prime minister last month, Takaichi announced that she intended to "discard the term 'work-life balance' for myself. I will work, work, work and work."
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi faces criticism for encouraging people to overwork Image: Eugene Hos
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