Japan’s Prime Minister Held a 3 A.M. Meeting That Divided the Entire Country. This 1 Shocking Word Explains Why

You can learn a lot by studying the words other cultures create—especially the ones that have no clean English equivalent. A few classics:

• Schadenfreude (German). Taking pleasure in someone else’s misfortune.
• Lagom (Swedish). “Just the right amount.” Not too much, not too little.
• Tartle (Scots). That awkward moment when you’re about to introduce someone and realize you’ve forgotten their name.

The fact that these concepts are encapsulated in a single word says something about the values and experiences of the cultures that coined them.

Recently I learned another foreign word in this category—one that stops you cold:

• Karoshi (Japanese). Death from overwork.

It’s a legally recognized phenomenon in Japan, severe enough that there are laws governing excessive work hours and employer responsibility.

Which is part of why Japan erupted last week when its new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, held a three-hour staff meeting that began at 3 a.m.

The fax heard ’round the country

Takaichi had a 9 a.m. appearance before the Diet. As she explained it, she needed to rewrite briefing materials—and the fax machine at her home jammed, which forced her to go to the prime minister’s official residence to rework everything with staff.

(For the idea file: Wait, Japan still uses fax machines?)

So she walked out at 3 a.m. and convened her aides in the middle of the night. The optics were immediate and intense.

The backlash

Critics said she pushed staff into the same unhealthy patterns the country has been trying to move away from—patterns tied directly to karoshi. A former prime minister called her timing “crazy,” saying that during his tenure, they started at 6 or 7 a.m., not in the dead of night.

Supporters defended her. Some said she was simply doing what the job required. Others blamed opposition lawmakers for submitting questions too late.

Takaichi acknowledged the “inconvenience” but stood by the decision.

Whatever side you take, the moment fits into a much larger conversation.

Have you heard of Elon Musk?

Think of Tesla, where Elon Musk has held 1 a.m. company-wide meetings, including a Sunday all-hands during the Model 3 “production hell” years.

Employees have described being summoned with almost no notice—and expected to show up because the CEO was awake and wanted answers.

In 2025, Tesla did it again: staff got a surprise late-night meeting announcement that left people scrambling.

Going past Tesla, in the AI and tech world, we’re seeing a U.S. adaptation of 996 culture—the 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six-days-a-week schedule that became so extreme in China that courts eventually barred employers from requiring it.

U.S. startups now openly advertise 70- to 80-hour weeks. Some founders brag on social media about 90-hour stretches. Hacker-house teams work, sleep, and brainstorm together so they can whiteboard at 1 a.m. without calling it overtime.

The framing is always the same: This is what it takes.

But Is It?

• Is a 3 a.m. prep session truly unavoidable?
• Is a 1 a.m. all-hands meeting the only way to solve a problem?
• Is a 72-hour week the price of admission for innovation?

Or are these simply habits that leaders normalize—not because they’re necessary, but because intensity gets mistaken for competence, or urgency for strategy, or exhaustion for commitment?

Or maybe even for ego? (“You’re probably wondering why I’ve called you all to this meeting in the middle of the night. It’s because I can.”)

Here’s the harder question: If the only way your organization can function is through chronic emergency hours, what does that say about your ability to lead?

Leaders set norms. When they create chaos, everyone else pays for it—sleep, health, family, future.

We don’t have a single English word that captures that entire dynamic. Not one I am willing to put in an Inc.com article that my mom will probably read, anyway.

Five letters, starts with H

Since we started with untranslatable words, let’s end with one from the opposite end of the spectrum:

• Hygge (Danish). A warm, cozy feeling from simple comforts—soft light, good company, calm.

A lot less dramatic than a 3 a.m. meeting. And, frankly, a lot healthier.