In most countries, sleeping in the public is frowned upon, and sleeping on the job even may get you fired. In Japan on the other hand, napping in public and even in the office is totally culturally accepted. In fact, it is often seen as a subtle sign of diligence, it shows you worked until exhaustion. The Japanese word for it is “inemuri“ (居眠り), which contains the character for being present and sleep. People may nap in department stores, cafe, restaurants or even at a free spot on a busy city sidewalk.
Sleeping in public can be seen especially on commuter trains, no matter how crowded. They often turn into the second bedroom. It comes in handy that Japan has such a low crime rate. It’s very unlikely, if you are sleeping on a train that someone would try to rob you. You can’t even think about that in many western cities, where it’s better to have your eyes extra wide open for the first sign of trouble.
Sleeping in social situations can even enhance your reputation. It is respected to attend a boring business meeting or group dinner while sleeping and dreaming to be somewhere else, instead of cancelling it. Also due to the common Japanese work habit being seated at your desk in the office before and after your boss leaves (rather than being productive), it doesn’t matter whether you’re sleeping or awake.
One reason for the common public sleeping might be the lack of sleep at home. A 2015 government study found that 39.5 percent of Japanese adults slept less than six hours a night. Long working and commuting hours reduce the possibility for quality sleep at home.
But not only salarymen and office ladies tend to take a nap at every possible occasion. Inemuri starts at a young age. In a study carried out by the Japan Youth Research Institute, the percentage of Japan’s high school students who nap during class is 45%, higher than the U.S., China, and South Korea.
Sleeping in class, while not nearly as acceptable, still carries the subtle suggestion of good intention from staying awake late the previous night to study.
