[DemocracyFTW2]

> Because it could be socially enforced.

Exactly this. As one salaryman (サラリマン) once explained to me, it's not the Japanese are terminally addicted to office work. It's when they don't show up, someone else will have to do their work, so while there is work, and be it after five, it would be unfair to leave b/c then all that happens is your co-workers have to do it anyway. A national holiday is an excuse / prescript that is doled out to everyone (except, you know, police, firefighters, hospitals, and shop clerks), so no-one needs to put it on their conscience.

[petre]

Sure. Then management abuses the workforce by assigning too many work hours to a person instead of hiring more people.

[DemocracyFTW2]

You're probably not wrong, but then this is completely orthogonal to this discussion.