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". The scheme, dubbed "Premium Friday", suggests companies make staff go home at 15:00 on the last Friday of the month, starting in February. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
– 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.)