Japan has a serious problem of working people to death – literally. One remedy, however, is their age-old tradition of napping in public. This is commonly seen on trains, park benches, and even sidewalks. It has its own etiquette, of course: confine your body to a small, unobtrusive space (not that everyone adheres to it).
What’s more, getting a little shut-eye in a meeting, or inemuri, is seen as a sign that one has been working hard. Sorry, worker bees, this is just for senior members. Lower level workers need to show their diligence and commitment to the job at hand. It’s also primarily indulged in by male senior staff. Women sleep on trains, but sleeping at work can make them look “un-lady like.”
Even in social events, falling asleep can be seen as consideration and dedication to others who are present because you attended even though you were exhausted. It’s kind of like George Bush throwing up on the Japanese Prime Minister at a state dinner for 135 diplomats in 1992. Many Japanese who had been angry at Bush’s aggressive attitude toward the U.S.- Japan auto trade, now felt sympathetically toward him. He did, after all, show up even though he was very sick. (The comedians, however, had a field day and coined the term “To do a Bush” – Bush suru).
As Woody Allen said, “80 percent of success is just showing up.”
And imagine how bad the karoshi death-from-overwork syndrome would be without those little catnaps!
