JAPAN’S famously long working hours will get a shakeup this summer, the government announced Friday, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pushing early starts and European-style flexibility.

    In a bid to better balance work and play for Japan’s harried employees and to encourage them to spend time and money on private life and leisure, Tokyo mandarins want the working day to start — and end — earlier.

    “Prime Minister Abe said we would take on changing the summertime lifestyle so that (people) will start working early in the morning and spend time with families and others in the evening,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters.

    To begin with, central government officials will promote early starts and flexible finishes, Suga quoted the premier as saying.

    “It is often said that long work hours in our country keep people from appreciating its benefits,” Suga said.

    “We believe reforming work styles is extremely important in letting people feel the benefits of ‘Abenomics’ and making our country’s growth sustainable,” he said, referring to the government’s program of economic reforms.

    According to statistics from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the average Japanese put in 1,735 hours’ work in 2013, far more than the 1,489 of France and Germany’s tally of 1,388, but fewer than the 1,788 of the United States.(SD-Agencies)