Working long hours is a way of life in Japan. So much so, that some occasionally die from it.
【解析】occasionally (adv.) 偶爾；有時
die of 死於……（內因）
die from 死於……（外因）
Karoshi is a term that means death by overwork.
【譯】Karoshi（日文）是一個表示過勞死的術語。
Nearly a quarter of Japanese companies have their employees work more than 80 hours of overtime per month.
【解析】have sb. do sth. 讓某人做某事；迫使某人做某事
Those extra hours are often unpaid.
【譯】那些額外的時間常常是無報酬的。
Today, Japan’s corporate culture is driven by the so-called salaryman. The salaryman is defined by his loyalty to his company and expected to spend his entire career working for the same firm.
【譯】現今，日本的公司文化由所謂的「工薪族」所驅使。工薪族被定義為其對公司的忠誠，並被期待整個職業生涯都為同一家公司工作。
Not only does he work long hours in the office, but it’s also assumed
he』ll participate in after-work activities too, like drinking with colleagues.
【解析】「Not only + 助動詞 + 主語 + 謂語，but + 主語 + 謂語」構成一個由Not only引導的倒裝句，意思是「不但……，而且……」。
In 2017, one survey found that despite being entitled to 20 days off per year, Japanese workers left 10 of those days unused -
topping every other country in the survey.
【譯】2017年，一項調查發現，儘管每年享有20天休假的權利，日本打工族還是在20天休假當中有10天沒有休，在各個被調查國家當中位列第一。
You don’t have to be in the confines of corporate walls to feel the impact of its work culture.
你不必被關在公司的四面牆內，就能感受到公司工作文化帶來的影響。
Every few minutes I see a man wearing a suit, holding a briefcase.
【解析】suit 正裝；briefcase 公文包
The nation’s work ethic dates back to what’s referred to as Japan’s economic miracle, which was its dramatic economic growth beginning in the 1950s, which propelled it to become the
world’s second-largest economy.
【解析】date back to … 追溯到……
miracle (n.) 奇蹟；神跡
dramatic (adj.) 突然的，巨大的，令人吃驚的；激動人心的，引人注目的，給人印象深刻的；戲劇性的
propel (v.) 驅使；驅動；迫使
【譯】國家的職業道德要追溯到被稱作經濟奇蹟的時期，那時在二十世紀五十年代出現了巨大的經濟增長，驅使日本成為了世界第二大經濟體。
Inside Japan’s corporations, the culture emphasizes the success of a company as a whole to be more important than any single individual, which might explain why one study found that 63% of Japanese felt guilty for taking paid leave.
【譯】在日本企業裡，企業文化強調，公司作為一個整體實現成功，比任何個人的成功都重要，這也許解釋了為什麼有一項研究發現63%的日本人會因帶薪休假而產生罪惡感。
But perhaps more concerning is this: Long work hours don’t necessarily mean high productivity.
【譯】但或許更讓人擔憂的就在這：長時間工作未必意味著高生產效率。
Earlier I mentioned the term karoshi - it means death by overwork. It’s legally recognized by the government and usually is marked by a heart attack, stroke or suicide due to stress.
【譯】較早前我提到的術語karoshi——意思是過勞死。政府從法律上承認這個術語，通常伴隨著心臟病、中風或因壓力自殺等後果。
There’s hundreds of cases of karoshi reported annually, although some argue these cases are underreported and that the real number could exceed that by up to 10 times.
【解析】annually = every year
underreport (v.) 少報；低估
exceed (v.) 超過，超出
An employee of the advertising firm Dentsu jumped to her death in 2015. The cause was said to have been depression caused by overwork.
【解析】jump to one’s death 跳樓死
depression (n.) 沮喪；抑鬱症；蕭條
overwork (v. & n.) 工作過度；過度勞累
The case generated widespread attention and renewed calls to change the long working hours and illegal unpaid overtime
highly common in Japan.
【譯】這個案例引起了廣泛關注，面對日本極其普遍存在的超長工作時間和非法無償加班，（人們）再次呼籲作出整改。
The firm was fined for violating labor standards because she was reportedly forced to work more than 100 hours of overtime per month.
【解析】be fined for sth./doing sth. 由於（做）某事被罰款
The company’s CEO even resigned over the controversy.
【譯】公司的首席執行董事甚至因此爭議事件引咎辭職。
After the death, Dentsu made some changes within the company.
One of them? The lights in the office now turn off at 10pm every
night in an effort to force employees to leave.
【解析】in an effort to = in an attempt to = in order to
And there are some early signs of hope. Japan’s government has considered several initiatives to curb the number of hours spent at the office, including making it mandatory to take at least five vacation days a year and requiring a 「rest」 period between the end of one day and the start of another.
【解析】early signs of hope 曙光初現；初現希望
initiative (n.) 倡議；措施；主動性，主動權；新方案
curb (v.) 控制，抑制；(n.) （路邊沿的）側石
mandatory (adj.) 強制的，義務的；法定的
In 2016, a new holiday 「Mountain Day」 was started, bringing Japan’s number of annual public holidays to 16. And in 2017, the government launched an initiative called Premium Fridays, in which it encouraged companies to allow their employees to leave at 3pm on the last Friday of the month, promoting consumer spending and less time in the office.
【解析】launch an initiative 推行一項新措施
premium (n.) 獎金，額外費用；(adj.) 優質的
But one study found that less than 4% of employees in Japan actually left early on the first Premium Friday. Which is why despite these initiatives, a cultural challenge still looms.
【譯】但是，一項研究發現，實際上在日本，不到4%的員工在「黃金禮拜五」提早下班。這就是為什麼我們說，儘管推行了這些新措施，對於公司文化的挑戰在所難免。
【解析】loom (v.) 赫然聳現；逼近，臨近；陰森地逼近
【拓展】loom large 顯得突出，變得嚴重
Since Japan’s culture emphasizes the group over the individual, well, no one wants to be the first one to leave the office.
【解析】emphasize A over B 強調A比B重要
And there’s another reason that there’s pressure on people to work hard. Japan’s economy is in danger. And in order to maintain its massive size, Japan needs to put in the hours.
【解析】in danger = in jeopardy 處於危險；岌岌可危
massive (adj.) 巨大的；嚴重的；強烈的
put in 投入；申請（for）；插（話）
Japan lost its spot as the world’s second-largest economy to China in 2011, a title that it had previously held for 42 years.
【解析】spot (n.) 地點；位置；汙跡；(v.) 發現
title (n.) 標題；頭銜
Japan is dealing with a labor crisis. Its population is aging fast and its birth rate is in decline. That means its total population is going down. And in the next 50 years, it’s projected to shrink by nearly a third. The population is expected to go from 127 million in 2015, to just 88 million by 2065.
【解析】deal with = cope with = do with = handle
in decline = on the decrease
be projected to do sth. 預測要做某事
There’s two likely ways the nation can compensate for the labor shortage - immigrants or robots.
【解析】compensate (sb.) for sth. 因……賠償；彌補……
Japan has always been less inclined to accept immigrants. In fact, its percentage of foreign workers is tiny compared to other nations of large economies. So without more immigrants, it’s looking to robotics to fill in the gap.
【解析】be inclined to do = tend to do
look to 寄望；依靠；展望，思考；留心，照管
Its robotics industry has spanned from hospitality to manufacturing, and now even reaching farms by creating robots that milk cows.
【解析】span from … to … = range from … to …
But whether technology could open the door for a better work-life balance for Japan’s workforce still remains to be seen.
【譯】然而，技術是否能為日本 勞動力打開一扇通往更好平衡工作與生活的大門，我們拭目以待。
為了增強學習的主觀能動性，對文稿的分析並非逐字逐句，也並非所有內容都有中文解釋（旨在強迫自主思考和查閱字典），僅提取關鍵內容進行解釋。切記，你才是學習的主體！
中英對照之後，是否感覺如釋重負？帶著文稿，不妨回顧一次視頻，檢查一下自己是否能準確定位每個部分的關鍵內容！別忘了將新鮮而有用的表達梳理到筆記本當中，為己所用！這是看視頻學英語的關鍵~