After the long weekend, I suddenly realized how quickly this short week is slipping away. Japan’s generous number of holidays can be both a blessing and a curse.
When I stopped to think about what to do today, I felt something was a little off.
Then it hit me—Monday was Culture Day, a national holiday, and that means there are only three workdays left this week, including today.
If there were just one more day, I’d have some breathing room—but life isn’t that kind.
I’ll have to stay focused and push through.
The other day, I was talking with my daughter, who’s currently working in New York.
She said, “Japan has so many national holidays—you actually get quite a lot of time off.”
Curious, I looked it up. The United States has eleven federal holidays,
while Japan has sixteen—five more than the U.S.
In fact, Japan ranks among the top countries in the world for the number of public holidays.
There was a time when Japanese people were known as tireless workers,
but those days are long gone. Now it almost feels as if our many holidays are putting pressure on our work schedule instead.
Well, that’s just how it is.
For someone like me, with only a few years left in my active career, it’s hardly worth complaining about.
What really matters is using the time I have wisely—
to get ahead on tasks with upcoming deadlines while I still can.
Instead of grumbling about lost time, I should just get on with it.
