Japans working population has a reason to rejoice as the country’s legislation approved a new holiday on the working calendar – Mountain Day. Each year August 11 will be an official public holiday all across Japan.
The latest announcement will take the total tally of public holidays in Japan to 16. Shintoism and its corresponding animalistic beliefs are an intrinsic part of Japans social fabric, and thus the Japanese Alipine Club along with other mountain-related groups have been pushing this for a while now.
Also, vast swathes of land in Japan is surrounded by mountainous regions, thus it was only apt for the country to have a day dedicated to the mountains.
The mountains also provide the country’s topography with some superb skiing options throughout the winter . The Mountain Day will take effect from 2016.
Japan in recent times has steadily added its total number of days off along with the switching from a six day working week to five days as the country’s economy is matured.
Japanese employees worked an average of 2,031 hours a year in 1990, compared with 1,831 in the United States and 1,578 hours in Germany, according to the Japan Institute for Labor Policy and Training.
Photo Credits:Sociorocket
