I'm Nicky Strong and this is VioA when the hits.

Welcome to Learning English, a daily 30 minute program from the Voice of America.

I'm Ashley Thompson.

And I'm Mario Ritter Jr.

This program is designed for English learners, so we speak a little slower and we use words and

phrases especially written for people learning English.

Today you will hear stories from Andrew Smith, Jill Robbins, and me. Later, John Russell presents an everyday grammar lesson, one that Bob Dylan fans will especially

enjoy.

Then Jill and Andrew return to bring us today's lesson of the day. But first,

Japan is a nation so hard-working that the Japanese language has a term for working oneself to death.

Now the government is trying to deal with a labor shortage.

One solution is to get more people and companies to accept four-day work weeks.

The Japanese government first supported a shorter working week in 2021. Few companies have signed on, however.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said only about 8% of companies permit three days off a week, while 7% give their

workers the required one day off.

Hoping to get small and medium sized businesses to change,

the government started a work style reform campaign.

It pushes shorter hours and other flexible plans for work,

along with paid time off and limits on overtime.

The Labor Ministry recently started offering free services and resources to help companies make the change.

A Ministry website explains the Hatara Kikata Kaikaku campaign, which means innovating how we work.

It says that when workers can choose how they work, they will have a better outlook on the future

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