Despite an agreement reached by the government, businesses and a labor union that caps annual overtime at 720 hours, there apparently is a loophole that allows up to 960 hours of overtime if employees work on holidays.
The 720-hour cap in the agreement doesn't include hours logged on holidays, effectively enabling employees to work up to 80 hours in monthly overtime for 12 straight months. This threshold increases the risk of karoshi, or death from overwork.
The government is trying to play down the technicality, arguing that it only accounts for rare cases.