Society

Japan cleared the way for holding the Summer Olympics on schedule by setting an end to its state of emergency and increasing vaccinations to about a million shots a day.

Tokyo may be the most ‘overworked’ city – but there are ways to measure how hard a city works. Earlier this year the Japanese government introduced a law limiting legal overtime work to 45 hours a month, with an extension of up to 100 hours a month in busy periods for a maximum of six months a year. But many remain doubtful it will rein in Japan’s toxic overwork culture.

Employees will stay home for two weeks as part of mass trial to take pressure off crowded public transport system. Hundreds of thousands of employees in Tokyo will work from home for two weeks as part of a trial of measures designed to reduce congestion during next year’s Olympics.

Gearing up to accept more foreign workers under a pair of new visas launched earlier this month, Japan held its first qualifying exam Sunday for applicants in the country. The exam, which took place at several locations across Japan, focused on checking the knowledge and skills required to work in the country’s hotel industry.