Could Covid finally end the tradition of Japan’s dreaded ‘bonenkai’ parties?

John Updike described America as a ‘vast conspiracy to make you happy’. Japan, a wonderful place to live in many ways, at times seems like the opposite; if not a vast conspiracy to make you unhappy, at least anxious, uncomfortable, and exhausted. This is especially true for those legions of salarymen and women sighing inwardly at the dread prospect of the ‘bonenkai’: the obligatory end of year company party. 

It comes as little surprise to learn that many Japanese loathe these jamborees, which they have to attend, whether they like it or not. A survey for the Asahi Shimbun newspaper suggests many regard bonenkai as unpaid overtime, and would rather head home to their families, or bed. But there is no escape: non-attendance would be as egregious and unforgettable an insult as skipping a family funeral. 

Bonenkai’s stated aim is to ‘forget the year’ but the real purpose seems to be to foster a sense of unity within a strict hierarchical structure.