Hideyuki can count on one hand the number of days he’s taken off work over the past year.

“One day in April for my daughter’s elementary school enrolment ceremony; and two half days in November, for a school parents’ day and a recital,” he says. “This is more than I normally take off.”

The 33-year-old engineer, who works for a technology company in Tokyo, had only two days of holiday last year. It’s not because he couldn’t take more: he is in fact entitled to 20 days annual leave.

Instead, like many Japanese workers, taking time off work beyond the absolute minimum is simply not an option. “It’s difficult because the atmosphere in the workplace wouldn't allow it,” says Hideyuki, who has two children, aged six and four, and is reluctant to give his full name due to potential repercussions at work.

“I don’t want my manager to be saying anything bad about me because I took the day off. It is easier to just work rather than them saying bad things about me or being told off.”