A young office worker soaks up the hot summer sun in Tokyo in an undated file photo. Japan's corporate warriors aren't getting enough sleep -- and it's costing the country billions. In the country that gave the world the word "karoshi," or death from overwork, drowsy employees turning up late, taking days off or struggling to stay awake on the job are causing economic losses of some $30 billion a year, according to a survey. "The idea is to raise awareness of the problem," said Makoto Uchiyama, professor and chairman of the department of neuropsychiatry at Nihon University School of Medicine, who conducted the survey. "Not everyone who is sleepy at work is lazy. It's hard to tell your boss that you are sleepy, but ignoring the problem can lead to losses in the long run." Japanese routinely work long hours, as much from cultural constraints on leaving before colleagues as from volume of work. Suited salarymen napping, often standing up, are a common sight on crowded commuter trains. The survey questioned some 3,075 workers at a chemical company on their sleeping and working habits. Some 37 percent of respondents said they had problems sleeping. They said their efficiency at work was reduced by about 40 percent and reported a high frequency of accidents, lateness and absenteeism. Uchiyama said other countries may be in a similar situation. "It may be thought that this is a Japanese problem. But it's not, it's global."    (Agencies)

日本的公司职员睡眠不足，这给日本造成了上十亿的经济损失。 “过劳死”一词来源于日本，即工作过度引起的死亡。据调查，昏昏欲睡的员工上班迟到、请假或工作时强打精神，给日本造成的经济损失达到一年约300亿美元。 日本医科大学神经精神医学院的主任真由中山教授做了此项调查，他说：“做这个调查的目的就是为了增强人们对这个问题的意识。” “并不是每个上班犯困的人都是懒散的。跟老板说你想睡觉有点开不了口，但是，忽视这个问题会造成长期损失。” 日本人的日常工作时间很长，这和不倡导先于同事下班的文化约束以及工作量大有关。西装革履的上班族在拥挤的上下班列车上站着睡觉在日本十分常见。 调查围绕睡眠和工作习惯对一家化学制品公司的约3075名工人进行了访问。 约37％的调查对象说，他们存在睡眠问题。他们说，他们的工作效率下降了40％，而且意外事故、迟到和矿工的发生频率也很高。 中山教授说，其他国家可能也存在类似的问题。 “也许大家认为这只是日本的问题。其实不是，这是个全世界的问题。” (英语点津姗姗编辑)