A95　　 In Europe and the United States, generic drugs account for around 50% of the overall medicinal drugs market, but generics have a much lower penetration rate in Japan, accounting for only around 10% of the market. However, in its bid to curb medical-care costs, the government has started to promote the use of generic drugs. With both domestic pharmaceutical manufacturers and overseas specialist generic-drug manufacturers entering the Japanese generic drug market, competition is expected to intensify.   According to government statistics, 12% of the total work-ing population of]apan (about 6 million people) work more than 60 hours per week. The hardest working group comprises men in ~heir thirties, one in four of whom is working more than 60 hours per week. In reality, unpaid overtime is widespread and it is thought that many more people than officially reported are working over 60 hours per week. If people work 60 hours per week over one year, they will have worked a total of2,850 hours, longer than the government's goal of 1,800 hours per annum.

With the spread of personal computers, the Internet and mobile phones, it is now possible to work anywhere and, even when one leaves the office, one's work follows. This trend is not found just in Japan, but also in the United States and Europe.