Letter From Tokyo

Japanese in pursuit of quality sleep in the world’s most sleep-starved country

Pokemon Sleep was released in July 2023 to entice fans to go to bed. PHOTO: GAME FREAK
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TOKYO – Sleep deprivation has long been seen as a badge of honour in Japan, where people can commonly be found catching 40 winks on their daily commutes or even at work, with their fatigue deemed a measure of their diligence.

Many surveys have shown that the Japanese sleep the least among those in developed countries.

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