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Stay out of Nagasaki if you want to go home on time: The most overworked prefectures in Japan

Michelle Lynn Dinh Oct 29, 2013
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Stay out of Nagasaki if you want to go home on time- The most overworked prefectures in Japan

It’s well known around the world that many people in Japan are overworked. Long hours, overtime, working on the weekends; all of these less than ideal conditions can build up and create unhappy employees. But did you know that not all prefectures are equally overworked?

Japanese online job search site, Rikunavi Next, have ranked the 47 prefectures of Japan based on how many hours of overtime and how much compensation workers receive on average. How does your prefecture stack up?

Rikunavi Next created the “Happy Overtime Points” index, derived from the average overtime compensation and hours of overtime worked in each prefecture. The higher the points, the higher the overtime compensation and the lower the amount of overtime hours. So unless you’re a workaholic who lives to be at their desk, you’re going to hope for a high score for your prefecture.

Since we’re optimistic people, let’s look at these findings in a positive light. Here are the prefectures rankings, starting from the highest amount of Happy Overtime Points (areas with the least amount of overtime and the highest overtime compensation):

1：Nara　245.7
2：Wakayama　237.3
3：Tottori　227.7
4：Mie　220.2
5：Fukui　219.7
6：Miyazaki　210.0
7：Shimane　207.2
8：Tokushima　206.3
9：Nagano　204.6
10：Kyoto　201.0

11：Osaka　198.5
12：Okinawa　197.8
13：Ishikawa　197.0
14：Niigata　196.8
15：Yamaguchi　195.5
16：Miyagi　191.0
17：Gunma　190.6
18：Saga　187.4
19：Saitama　187.0
20：Fukushima　183.3

21：Chiba　183.2
22：Akita　181.1
23：Oita　179.3
24：Toyama　179.1
25：Gifu　178.9
26：Fukuoka　178.4
27：Kochi　177.7
28：Kanagawa　175.8
29：Tochigi　175.6
30：Yamanashi　174.4

31：Kagawa　173.1
32：Tokyo　172.3
33：Kumamoto　168.7
34：Shiga　166.1
35：Kagoshima　165.4
36：Aichi　165.3
37：Aomori　164.0
38：Ehime　163.8
39：Hiroshima　163.8
40：Hyogo　163.5

41：Hokkaido　161.6
42：Iwate　158.3
43：Okayama　151.9
44：Yamagata　149.6
45：Shizuoka　148.5
46：Ibaraki　139.5
47：Nagasaki　121.9

As you can see, Nara, neighboring Wakayama, and slightly farther away Tottori took the top three spots. Those who live in first place Nara Prefecture clocked in an average of 7.2 hours of overtime and received 1,769 yen (US$18.12) per hour for that extra time spent at work. On the other end of the spectrum, Shizuoka, Ibaraki, and Nagasaki took up the rear in 45th, 46th, and 47th place respectively. Citizens of last place Nagasaki Prefecture worked an average of 4.6 more hours of overtime and got paid 331 yen ($3.39) per hour less for that extra work.

Although these rankings might inspire tired workers to pick up and move to one of the top three prefectures, a graduate from a Wakayama university warns you might want to hold off on your moving plans. Although Wakayama Prefecture had the second highest amount of Happy Overtime Points, the area is low on actual jobs, possibly boosting the prefecture’s rank. It goes to show that a high amount of Happy Overtime Points doesn’t necessarily reflect an easy place to work. Still, it might come in handy for some people who are unhappy with their working conditions and may even inspire some to seek “happier” overtime areas.

[ Read in Japanese ]