India-Japan ties go far beyond trade. Here's one thing India shouldn't import: Karoshi

India and Japan have spent decades building one of Asia's most consequential partnerships. From the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project and Japanese investments in Indian manufacturing to cooperation in semiconductors, critical minerals and clean energy, the relationship today stretches far beyond diplomacy. Japan is one of India's largest investors. Indian professionals are increasingly finding opportunities in Japan. The two countries are also working together on everything from supply chains to artificial intelligence.

Over the years, India has borrowed many ideas from Japan. Manufacturing practices. Quality-control systems. Infrastructure models. Even workplace discipline. But there is one Japanese phenomenon that India should think twice before importing: karoshi.

What is karoshi?

Karoshi literally means "death by overwork." The term emerged in Japan in the 1970s as doctors and researchers began documenting cases of employees dying from strokes, heart attacks and acute cardiac failure linked to extreme working hours and chronic stress.

Notably, Karoshi is not a medical diagnosis in itself. Rather, it describes deaths and severe disabilities that occur when relentless workloads push the human body beyond its limits.

Over time, another related term entered public discussion: karojisatsu, or suicide caused by overwork and work-related stress.

These were not isolated incidents. They became serious enough to force Japan to confront uncomfortable questions about its work culture.

Karoshi: How Japan became a warning story

For decades, Japan's economic miracle was built on discipline, loyalty and extraordinary dedication to work. Employees routinely stayed late. Taking leave was often discouraged. Long hours became a badge of commitment.

The system helped power one of the world's most remarkable economic transformations. But it came at a cost.

Research linked excessive work hours to cardiovascular disease, depression, burnout and suicide. The pressure was often compounded by rigid workplace hierarchies, repetitive work, job insecurity and limited control over workloads. Eventually, the problem became too large to ignore.

Japan's attempt to fix the problem

Recognising the scale of the crisis, Japan introduced the Workstyle Reform Act in 2018.

The legislation placed limits on overtime, encouraged flexible work arrangements and required companies to create healthier working environments.

The reforms acknowledged a reality many countries are still grappling with: productivity and endless working hours are not the same thing.

Japan learned, painfully, that economic growth can come with serious human consequences when work consumes everything else.

Why this matters for India

The debate feels particularly relevant in India today. In recent years, some of India's most prominent business leaders have argued that the country needs to work significantly longer hours to compete globally.

Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy famously called on young Indians to work 70-hour weeks, arguing that stronger work ethics are necessary if India wants to become a developed nation. "India's work productivity is one of the lowest in the world," he said on a podcast in 2023. "Unless we improve our work productivity... we will not be able to compete with those countries that have made tremendous progress. My request is that our youngsters must say, 'This is my country. I'd like to work 70 hours a week'," he added.

A couple of years later, L&T Chairman S N Subrahmanyan went even further, suggesting that employees should work 90 hours a week and questioning the value of weekends. In a controversial statement, Subramanyan asked, "How long can you stare at your wife," and suggested that employees should give up Sundays.

"What do you do sitting at home? How long can you stare at your wife? Come on, get to the office and start working," he said.

Productivity is not the same as hours worked

A lesson India can learn from Japan is that while hard work is good, there are limits to what the human body and mind can sustainably handle.

Studies across multiple countries show that productivity often falls after a certain number of hours. Fatigue leads to mistakes. Stress damages health. Burnout reduces long-term performance.

Japan's experience suggests that measuring commitment by hours spent at a desk can ultimately become self-defeating. India can certainly learn from Japan's precision, efficiency and discipline. Those are strengths worth emulating. Karoshi is not.