The government is encouraging companies to ensure their employees take time off because it wants workers to get out and be better consumers.

In 2003, the average Japanese company employee used a record-low 8.5 days of his or her 18.0 days of paid leave, according to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.

If the 8.8 untaken vacation days in 2001 had been used by the nation's 46 million regular employees, it would have generated 11.8 trillion yen in economic effects, mainly in the tourism and leisure industries, according to a 2002 government simulation.