ABSTRACT
This chapter uses the construction of the new Olympic stadium for the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics as an example to illustrate negative implications of Japanese work-styles, in particular extremely long working hours. The case not only sheds light on phenomena such as death from overwork (karōshi) but also on how workers are impacted by underlying structural divisions in the Japanese labor market, i.e. between the working conditions of large and small firms as well as between regular and non-regular employment. It also discusses why labor shortages have not led to higher wages.
