The Japanese are known for working long hours. Exactly how many hours do they spend at work?

Under the revised Labor Standard Law of 1993, the maximum number of hours employees may work was limited to eight per day, and 40 per week.
Most companies are therefore moving toward a five-day work week.
This law is still often ignored by small businesses.
Even so, some 50 years after the end of World War II, the working hours of the Japanese are finally similar to those of workers in the West.
In 2002, Japanese workers in manufacturing labored 1,965 hours a year, not much different from the 2,005 hours for American workers and 1,934 hours for British workers.