TOKYO, Nov 13, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said 
on Thursday she only sleeps for between two and four hours every night, while 
she also faces criticism for encouraging people to overwork.

The revelation about how little she sleeps came after Takaichi raised 
eyebrows last week by arranging a 3 am staff meeting in her office to prepare 
for a parliamentary session.

"I sleep about two hours now, four hours at the longest. I feel it's bad for 
my skin," she told a legislative committee, where she had been asked about 
the importance of reducing Japan's notoriously long work hours.

Japan has long struggled to strike a healthy work-life balance, with many 
workers facing heavy pressure at the office.

It even has a word -- "karoshi" -- for people who die from overwork.

Takaichi was also asked to explain her government's discussions about 
possibly extending the upper limit on overtime work in order to encourage 
economic growth.

She defended the discussion, saying that workers and employers have different 
needs. Some people choose to work two jobs to make ends meet, she said, while 
businesses impose strict limits on overtime.

Takaichi stressed that any change would ensure that workers' health would be 
protected.

"Indeed, if we can create a situation where people can properly balance 
childcare and caregiving responsibilities according to their wishes, and also 
being able to work, enjoy leisure time, and relax -- that would be ideal," 
she said.

Takaichi came to power last month as Japan's first woman prime minister.

She pledged after her election as the head of the Liberal Democratic Party to 
"discard the term 'work-life balance' for myself. I will work, work, work, 
work, and work".

She has since kept a busy calendar, attending regional meetings as well as 
holding bilateral talks with US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi 
Jinping and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung.