Salaryman

In Japanese popular culture, it is portrayed as a white-collar worker who shows unwavering loyalty and commitment to his employer, prioritizing work over everything else in their life often at the expense of their family.

In conservative Japanese culture, becoming a salaryman is a typical career choice for young men and women, as parents map out their child's education path in order to make sure they can attend a prestigious university which in turn will lead to recruitment by a major company.

As a reward for their loyalty, companies rarely fire the salarymen (see below for the Madogiwa Zoku or “the window tribe”) except in special "dire" circumstances.

[6] Underperforming employees in the over 40 age bracket are sidelined with some of their responsibilities taken away, although they do not formally receive a pay cut nor a demotion (Madogiwa Zoku or “the window tribe”).

As a result of this intense work-driven lifestyle, salarymen may be more likely to suffer from mental or physical health problems, including heart failure, or to commit suicide.

[9] A salaryman's typical outfit consists of a dark suit, a white shirt, and a simple tie in neutral colors like navy, black, or gray.

While companies often take part in the Cool Biz initiative which encourages workers to wear lighter clothing (short-sleeved shirts instead of long ones) during the hot months to reduce air conditioning use, Japanese salarymen still retain a clean and professional look, in contrast to Western business casual which permits khakis or jeans with polo shirts.

Though the importance of social drinking has not declined, its image has changed over time from mass partying during the economic bubble to conservative consumption at home after the collapse of the economy during the 1990s.

According to a Washington Post article, the Japanese government struggled for years to pass a law limiting to the number of hours one can work, and the issue has been prevalent since the 1970s.

[citation needed] In 2014, after 30 years of activism, Japan's parliament (the Japanese Diet) passed a law "promoting countermeasures against karōshi.

"[14] Karōshi, literally "overwork death," was first diagnosed as a "circulatory disease brought on by stress" in the late 1970s after the 1973 oil crisis, which took a toll on the post-war reconstruction of Japanese industry.

In 2002, Kenichi Uchino, a 30-year-old quality-control manager at Toyota, collapsed and died after working over 80 hours unpaid overtime for six months.