The flip side of that cultural sense of duty is unfortunately a rise in "black" companies (ブラック企業, burakku kigyo) and employee exploitation[1] leading to very long working hours (often unpaid) and high karojisatsu rates (suicide from overwork / stressful working conditions)[2].

At least in the past, companies like JR East were known for their worker exploitation and unfair policies, leading to decades of hostile labor disputes with Kokuro (the National Railway Workers' Union)[3].

In 2013, a family sued JR West after an overworked employee committed suicide. The family claimed he worked over 100 hours a month, and that during some months, he worked over 254 hours of overtime[4].

Japanese trains are renowned for being extremely punctual, but operators often punish employees for the smallest mistakes. They fine employees if the train is delayed by even a single minute, leading to one driver suing JR West in 2021[5].

I know the west likes to romanticise Japanese culture, but the reality of the working culture in Japan is far from romantic.

[1] https://izanau.com/article/view/black-companies-japan

[2] https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/karoshi-deep-look-japans-...

[3] https://www.jil.go.jp/english/archives/emm/2006/no.74/74_si....

[4] https://japantoday.com/category/national/family-files-lawsui...

[5] https://www.vice.com/en/article/japan-railways-lawsuit-late/

How Japan's railways stayed one while splitting apart