Lying lazily in the shadow of an umbrella on a beach, being a tourist and wandering around the streets of an unknown city with a guide book in your hands, or just relaxing at home enjoying free time. Common ways of spending a holiday perhaps, however, many Japanese forego these every year in order to miss as few days of work as possible.

According to a survey by Expedia Japan that examines the ‘Vacation Deprivation’ situation [ja] in 11 developed countries, Japanese workers take on average only 7.9 days off a year. Japan, with an average allowance of 15 paid days off a year is the country with the smallest number of paid days off after the U.S. It is, however, number one for untaken vacation time.

Among the causes are said to be pressure and anxiety due to the economic crisis and a working environment where few people dare to be absent from work so as to avoid “causing trouble to their colleagues” by increasing their workload.

A proposal to replace the old-fashioned OUT OF OFFICE message. by Luis Gosalbez. CC License

An anonymous business man at Hatenalabo shares his experience [ja] as a superior with the authority to allow vacation time to his younger colleagues. From executives down to the heads of smaller divisions, nobody wants to take the responsibility to say “yes” to a colleague who wants to use the days off that are due to him in his contract. The older colleagues don't take vacations and so the newer ones won’t either. That's the praxis!

入社して半年ばかりたった男の子が、「来月友達と旅行行くんで１週間休んでもいいですか？」とかいってきた。
急にそんなこと言い出したから「ちょっと、さすがに一週間は無理でしょ」って注意したら、酷く怯えたような、物悲しいような恐ろしい顔で私のこと見てたけど、今考えるもっととソフトな言い方すればよかった。
とくに立て込んだ予定も入ってなかったから休ませてあげたい気持ちもないことはなかったけど、そんな習慣はなく、そもそもだれも有給休暇を消費しない社内環境で、上司や他の同僚が聞き耳立ててる状況ではやっぱり無理だよ。そんな恐い顔しないでよ。
あっても使えなくてさらにへんな罪悪感を植えつけるような制度なら最初から無くなって欲しいよ。

Another recent survey on foregone leave by Ipsos and Reuters of 24 countries around the world revealed that only 33% of Japanese workers choose to use up their entitlements. France was first with 89%.

Sasa, a business man, confesses [ja] that in his company also, people would think twice before asking to take some days off as they would be unpopular with their colleagues.

sasaの周りでも有給なんて、あってないようなもの。取れない風潮がある。
残業しないで帰ろうとすると、えっ？まさか帰るわけじゃないよね？という雰囲気で言葉をかけられる。

The lack of a regulation on sick leave in Japan forces many workers to use their paid vacation entitlements if they are ill. This is also one of the reasons why many people prefer not to use all the days off they have accumulated fearing they may have none left in case they can’t work due to health problems.

H.N., a Japanese expat who has a blog explicitly called kusoshigoto “crappy work”, has no mercy for the Japanese labor system and criticizes it [ja]both for the lack of Government regulation and the instilling of sense of guilt and social pressures.

正直、sick leave（病欠給）がない国ってのは聞いた事がない。特に日本は先進国、経済大国wとか言っておきながらsick leave（病欠給）すら定められてなくて、病気で休んだら有給が削られるなんてエグ過ぎるだろ？　これはクソ会社の問題って言うより傲慢な国の問題かもな。仕事絡みのストレスでウツ病なったり、過労死や過労自殺など世界でも類を見ないような社会問題が頻発してるのに見ないふり、聞こえないふりか？　連日終電ギリギリまで働かせておいて「体調管理も仕事のうちw」って言ってるのと同じレベルでクソだな。

H.N. then continues with his polemic and questions [ja] the Japanese work ethic.

本来、仕事は生活するための手段に過ぎないのに、日本ではいつの間にか仕事自体が目的になってしまっているんだよな。諸外国では当たり前のwork to live（生きるために働く）の価値観が、live to work（働くために生きる）にすり替わってるんだから。