Japan's government is urging employees to leave the office early every last Friday of the month, hoping to crackdown on a culture of workaholics while providing a shot in the arm for the economy.

日本政府正敦促上班族在每周五早点下班，希望以此使工作狂文化不再流行，同时给经济增长打下了一针兴奋剂。

The Premium¹ Friday campaign, which launched this week, is calling on workers to leave the office at 3pm once a month, and spend time with family, dine out or go shopping, according to Japan Times.

据《日本时报》报道，这周发起的“优质星期五”活动呼吁上班族在每个月中能有一次下午3点就下班，在多出来的空余时间里多陪陪自己的家人，外出下馆子或者去购物。

It is hoped that the initiative will encourage people to spend more money on food, in shops and on travel. All Nippon Airways², the country's largest airline, is offering special discounts from Friday in a bid to entice³ people to take trips.

政府希望该活动能够鼓励人们在食品、购物和旅行上有更多的花费。日本最大的航空公司全日本航空为了吸引人们外出旅游，在周五会给出售的机票打特殊的折扣。

"We hope this will encourage people to rest and to leave the office earlier," an ANA spokeswoman told Japan Times.

全日本航空一位女发言人在接受《日本时报》采访时表示：“我们希望这可以鼓励人们早点下班去休息，”

"Participation⁴ by the government and companies is needed to push forward reforms (in the working culture)," she added.

她补充说道：“工作文化方面改革的推进需要政府和企业们的支持。”

The campaign is part of a general push by the government to limit excessive working hours following the suicide of an employee at ad agency Dentsu that was reportedly ruled to be a "death by overwork", and cast a harsh spotlight⁵ on Japan's deeply entrenched⁶ problem of overtime⁷ and burnout.

政府发起该活动的目的是限制员工们的上班时间，因为此前曾经有关于日本电通公司的员工由于工作时间过长而自杀的报道，这是一起典型的“过劳死”事件，它使民众关注到日本存在的根深蒂固的加班时间过长的严重问题。

The president of Dentsu stepped down in the wake of the tragic⁸ incident and the company has since announced new measures such as switching off the office lights between 10pm and 5am.

这一悲剧事件发生以后，日本电通的总裁就辞职了，并且该公司自此推行了一些新措施，例如晚上十点到次日凌晨五点不准有人上班。