Japan’s work culture is notoriously punishing. This is, after all, the country that coined the phrase karoshi, or death by overwork. 
 
 A much trumpeted labor initiative doesn’t look as though it’s going to change things very much, either. Beginning Feb. 24, the Japanese government and participating business groups will launch the “Premium Friday” campaign to let people leave the office a couple of hours early — but not every Friday. Just the last Friday of each month, Bloomberg reports. 
 
 The scheme is not mandatory, either, so it is unclear how many enterprises will actually take part. The Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) has encouraged its members to sign up, but they comprise a mere 1,300 companies. (There are well over 2.5 million registered businesses in Japan according to figures from 2006.) 
 
 Even the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which is promoting “Premium Friday,” has not signaled if its staff will participate. 
 
 “Premium Friday” comes at a time when karoshi is back in the spotlight. Earlier this week, the head of Japan’s biggest ad agency Dentsu (dentsu-inc) resigned over the suicide of Matsuri Takahashi, a young employee who leaped to her death in December 2015 after becoming depressed from overwork. 
 
 “Death by overwork should never happen. I ask executives to take effective measures to redress (the situation.)” said Keidanren chairman Sadayuki Sakakibara following Takahashi’s suicide, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reports. 
 
 For more on death by overwork, watch Fortune’s video: 
 
 According to 2014 figures from the Japan Institute For Labor Policy, Japan has the highest percentage of workers working over 49 hours per week among the G-7 nations. However data from the Japan Productivity Center indicates that the country also has the worst productivity among the group. 
 
 “Japan is still a country where working long hours is considered a virtue,” said Kazunari Tamaki, a lawyer who specializes in karoshi told Japan’s Kyodo. “But we need to focus on improving efficiency within fixed hours to boost productivity.” 
 
 Unfortunately, with schemes like “Premium Friday” that’s unlikely to happen any time soon. ||||| Image copyright AFP Image caption Japanese workers often spend a lot of time with colleagues even after leaving the office 
 
 Death from overwork in Japan is such a longstanding problem it even has its own word, "karoshi". 
 
 Now the government and business groups are trying to get workers to take a small step to reclaim their lives by leaving work early one day a month. 
 
 The scheme, dubbed "Premium Friday", suggests companies make staff go home at 15:00 on the last Friday of the month, starting in February. 
 
 It has been given renewed impetus by the suicide of a woman who was working more than 100 hours overtime a month at Japan's biggest ad agency, Dentsu. 
 
 Her death was ruled to be a case of "karoshi" and has led to an investigation, an announcement the firm's chief executive will resign and deep concern in Japan at the country's work culture. 
 
 But with around 2,000 deaths a year linked to overwork, few believe the voluntary scheme represents anything more than a small step towards changing attitudes and it is unclear how many companies will take it up. 
 
 Image copyright Premium Friday Image caption Premium Friday has its own logo 
 
 It is not the first time overwork has been seen as a problem nor the first time anyone has tried to do something about it. 
 
 Among other initiatives, the government has in the past tried to make employees take more of the leave they are entitled to - Japan's labour ministry says they only take about half - without much success. 
 
 The number of public holidays in Japan this year increased to 16 in part aimed at forcing people to take breaks. 
 
 The government has also tried to encourage more flexible hours, allowing government workers to start and leave work early in the summer and even switching off the lights in some offices late in the evening, something Dentsu is also now trying. 
 
 Workers are increasingly taking the initiative to go home on time some days too, even announcing it on social media to encourage others to do the same. 
 
 Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The death of a Dentsu employee has focused attention on a longstanding problem 
 
 But while this has helped change the idea that working excessive overtime is necessarily a good thing, none has had a made much of a dent in the hours themselves. 
 
 Around 22% of the population work more than 49 hours a week according to 2014 figures from the Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training, behind South Korea at 35% but ahead of the US, where 16% of workers put in those kind of hours. 
 
 Why change? 
 
 For the government and business groups, there is an element of self-interest too. 
 
 Japan's economy has stagnated for more than two decades. The situation has been made worse by low consumption spending and a very low birth rate, both of which are aggravated by workers spending most of their waking hours at a desk. 
 
 Productivity and efficiency also suffer from firms having staff perpetually on hand, as companies don't invest in labour-saving technologies. 
 
 Toshihiro Nagahama, chief economist at the Dai-ichi Life Research Institute, told the BBC that private consumption could rise by as much as 124 billion yen ($1bn; £860m) every Premium Friday if "100%" of those eligible headed home at 3pm on those days. 
 
 But he stresses no one knows how many people will take up the idea and that total participation is unlikely, which could mean a much smaller boost to the economy. 
 
 Image copyright AFP Image caption Maybe next time dad can come too - increasing family time is one goal 
 
 Why would companies and workers not take part? Well, being first to make such a change could be painful. 
 
 Companies face higher costs and Japanese workers often feel guilty at leaving their colleagues behind. 
 
 "Japanese workers worry about letting down their colleagues" says Mr Nagahama. "They have a strong sense of working as a team." 
 
 Having employees work less is especially difficult for Japan's many small businesses, which are battling to keep costs down. The fact that many of them are family-run makes an early walk-out even trickier. 
 
 Even with Premium Friday, Mr Nagahama points out some employees may make up the time on other days or even do other jobs in their newly-gained leisure time, which would nullify the point of the scheme. 
 
 It is not even clear if the government ministry behind the idea will be participating, though Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroshige Seko has reportedly promised that he will not have appointments after 15:00 on those Fridays. 
 
 Image copyright AFP Image caption The rare sight of office workers enjoying themselves while it is still light could become more common 
 
 Despite doubts about the scheme, supporters hope the modest goal of an early finish once a month combined with the backing of government and industry will encourage uptake, and eventually more fundamental change in workplace culture. 
 
 The campaign is also promoting commercial opportunities for restaurants, shops, travel companies and other businesses who could benefit, in the hope that firms will see the benefit of increased leisure time for employees. 
 
 Of course, changing deeply-rooted attitudes to work will be difficult. Many previous attempts have failed. But ironically the effort might be helped by Japanese workers' declining corporate loyalty. 
 
 Cut adrift by years of restructuring from the lifetime employment bargain that bound their fathers to a single firm, younger Japanese people may find that the chance to head to the izakaya (pub) a bit earlier some Fridays is just the nudge they need to adopt a better work-life balance. 
 
 Reporting by Simeon Paterson. ||||| The country that coined the word karoshi (death by overwork) wants companies to let workers finish early on the last Friday of every month so that they can go out and have fun. 
 
 In an effort to curb excessive work hours and to spur consumption, the government and business groups will launch the Premium Friday campaign on Feb. 24. 
 
 Although it’s unknown how many companies will participate, the nation’s biggest business lobby, Keidanren, is encouraging its more than 1,300 member companies to take part. 
 
 One indication of just how tough it is to get change in Japan’s rigid work practices: the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which is pushing the idea, hasn’t decided yet if its officials will get to join in. 
 
 However, METI chief Hiroshige Seko said, “I’m giving my secretaries a strict order not to put in any appointments after 3 p.m.” on the first Premium Friday. 
 
 There’s a clear relationship between leisure time, holidays and spending, said Toshihiro Nagahama, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute in Tokyo. If most workers, including those at small and medium-size firms participate, private consumption could rise by about ¥124 billion on each Premium Friday, according to his calculations. 
 
 That may provide some boost to private consumption, which makes up about 60 percent of the economy. 
 
 However, Nagahama said he is concerned workers at smaller companies may have difficulty leaving early, or that they will simply have to make the time up on other days, limiting the campaign’s impact. 
 
 Japanese workers typically use just half of their annual paid leave entitlements. In part to work around this problem and enforce time away from work, Japan has 16 annual public holidays, more than countries including the U.S. and France.
– Workers in Japan put in notoriously long hours, and the country appears to be paying a price: stressed out workers and resulting health problems, including suicide. As the Japan Times notes, there's even a word for it: "karoshi," or "death by overwork." Now Japan is designating the last Friday of every month as "Premium Friday," with employees encouraged to sign out at 3pm—and maybe do a little shopping to jump-start their weekend and possibly a lagging economy, reports the London Times. The move isn't mandatory for companies, but the nation's biggest business lobby is on board and encouraging its members to take part when it launches on Feb. 24. It doesn't help that most workers in Japan tend to use only half their allotted paid time off, and that an estimated one in eight work 50 hours or more—the highest percentage among G-7 nations. So it remains unclear whether Premium Friday will be a sufficient break for the overworked, or even attainable for those who must squeeze in their work at other times. Fortune is skeptical, calling it an "essentially meaningless" scheme. It quotes a critic who says the bigger issue to focus on is efficiency to cut down on those long work weeks, which are "still considered a virtue." Another problem is that Japan has lots of small, family-run businesses where shortened hours could be a problem, notes the BBC. (A Japanese CEO resigned after a young woman's suicide.)