So I'm American military stationed here on mainland for about a year now (and not planning to leave anytime soon). I will admit before moving here I knew literally nothing about Japan, but I've been fortunate to live off base here and have worked to immerse myself when I can, as my job is still rather consuming compared to maybe other expats.
I've been dating a girl here for a little over 3 months. Thing is, she regularly spends 14-15 hours a day/5-6 days a week at work (she works in human resources for a company), travels on the road several days a week, and often doesn't get home till midnight. I have no doubt she's at work during that time, but for an office job it's a bit of a culture shock to me, and I don't exactly work 9-5 myself. When I ask her if that's really necessary, she says yes, that's the norm for her work.
Anyways, I've read articles of course mentioning how workaholic the Japanese are, I see guys in suits taking the late/early trains looking like a truck hit them, and live next to a juku so I know some kids seem to burn the oil too, but since I spend most of my day around other Americans, I'm just curious: is this really true? Anyone else have experience with this? I'm just trying to figure out if it's cultural and how to broach the subject with her, as I'll admit it bothers me a little that she's rarely around and I seem to compete with her job for time.
I've been dating a girl here for a little over 3 months. Thing is, she regularly spends 14-15 hours a day/5-6 days a week at work (she works in human resources for a company), travels on the road several days a week, and often doesn't get home till midnight. I have no doubt she's at work during that time, but for an office job it's a bit of a culture shock to me, and I don't exactly work 9-5 myself. When I ask her if that's really necessary, she says yes, that's the norm for her work.
Anyways, I've read articles of course mentioning how workaholic the Japanese are, I see guys in suits taking the late/early trains looking like a truck hit them, and live next to a juku so I know some kids seem to burn the oil too, but since I spend most of my day around other Americans, I'm just curious: is this really true? Anyone else have experience with this? I'm just trying to figure out if it's cultural and how to broach the subject with her, as I'll admit it bothers me a little that she's rarely around and I seem to compete with her job for time.