TOKYO -- Japan has long been known as a place where workers toil for long hours and take few holidays. The latest data does nothing to shake that stereotype.

The average Japanese full-timer worked 173 hours of overtime last year, according to the Monthly Labor Survey compiled by the labor ministry. That is seven hours longer than in 2013 and 36 more than the tally two decades ago.

The statistics show employees last year worked roughly three hours of overtime per week, the most since the government started keeping tabs in 1993.

Some sectors stood out as particularly demanding. In cargo transport, workers logged 463 extra hours on an annual basis. In automobile manufacturing, the count came to 275 hours. In information services, it was 248 hours.

Japan's government and some companies are taking measures to curb overtime. The numbers suggest the efforts are still a work in progress.

A lifetime of extra time

There are a number of reasons why controlling labor time is no easy task. One is Japan's lifetime employment system, under which workers are virtually guaranteed job security. This makes it difficult for employers to resort to layoffs in tough times. It also means businesses are more likely to adapt to fluctuations in demand by increasing or decreasing the hours logged by their existing staffers, according to Keiichiro Hamaguchi, senior research director at the Japan Institute for Labor Policy and Training.

American companies, in contrast, are more likely to hire or release workers when business conditions change.

Hisashi Yamada, a chief economist at the Japan Research Institute, noted another side effect of lifetime employment: a less-active job market. This dissuades workers from leaving their jobs to look for better ones, even if -- as now -- they are forced to work longer hours in response to an improving economy and a manpower shortage. Put another way, workers do not have much leverage.

Some experts also point to a widespread belief that longer hours make for more successful careers. There is something to this. Isamu Yamamoto, a professor at Tokyo's Keio University, did a study on college graduates in nonmanagerial positions. He found that employees who worked 10 hours more per week had a 3% greater chance of being promoted to managerial posts the following year.

Yamamoto noted that in Europe, working longer hours is often considered a sign of low productivity. In Japan, it is still a badge of honor. A Cabinet Office survey found that among workers putting in more than 12 hours a day, over 50% assumed their managers would look favorably upon those who do overtime.

A lack of clearly defined responsibilities also contributes to longer hours, in Yamamoto's view. In the U.S. and Europe, workers are generally free to leave as long as they have finished their assigned tasks. In Japan, the team takes priority; the best workers are expected to pick up the slack for the not-so-efficient. Promotions are the reward for doing so.

Start earlier, leave earlier

Some companies, hoping for efficiency gains, have taken it upon themselves to help employees strike a better work-life balance.

Itochu, the trading house, is one example. The company in 2013 banned work after 8 p.m. in principle. To encourage its 2,600 domestic full-time workers to get more done in the morning, Itochu offers nighttime pay rates from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. It also hands out free light meals to workers who get in before 8 a.m.

The result? Overtime by employees in career-track positions declined to 45 hours per month, four fewer than the level before the change. An Itochu official said workers tend to be more efficient early in the day, especially now that they know they cannot stay as long as they want in the evening.

Itochu's labor costs also fell by 4%, even with the extra early morning pay and snack expenses.

The government, meanwhile, has been creating new positions with clear responsibilities and limited working hours. In 2014, it drew up guidelines for this hiring policy and encouraged businesses to follow suit. The thinking is that this way, at least some workers would be able to finish at a consistent time, freeing them up to, say, care for children or elderly parents.

The government also plans to make it mandatory for workers to take at least five paid vacation days per year, starting in the spring of 2016. According to the labor ministry, 16% of regular employees do not take even one paid day off, apparently because they feel uncomfortable saddling colleagues with extra work.

Most workers in Europe use up their paid holidays. They are strongly encouraged to do so.

Parsing the numbers

By some measures, Japanese are working less than they used to. Recent statistics from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development put the average annual hour total at 1,800 in Japan, lower than in the U.S. and below the OECD average.

Through 1990, Japanese workers labored for more than 2,000 hours per year, significantly more than their U.S. and OECD counterparts.

These figures, however, include part-timers, who are estimated to work roughly half of the hours of regular employees. And Japan's ratio of part-time workers has jumped from 15% in 1990 to 30%. Full-time employees in 2014 worked an average of 2,021 hours, roughly unchanged over the last decade-plus.