Tomoyuki Iwashita The Company Summary

Japan is a place where people work together for the group rather than themselves. The concept of individualism would seem foreign to Japanese natives; however, Tomoyuki Iwashita abides by this concept. Tomoyuki Iwashita is a Japanese native who worked for a well-known company, but later decided to quit because he felt like his job was ruining his lifestyle. While the vast majority of Japanese workers would embrace the idea of collectivism, Iwashita decided to act on his own and to not conform to the Japanese status quo. Japanese culture reinforces this idea of collectivism in which its citizens work to benefit the country. This leads to Japanese citizens overworking themselves. It is very common for Japanese people to work all day and night, they are even expected to attend late night “meetings” with their co-workers. Many workers “live at work” or basically never go home. This is where Iwashita draws the line. In the essay “Why I Quit the Company” Iwashita states,
The working day is officially eight hours, but you can never leave the office on time. I used to work from nine in the morning until eight or nine at night, and often until midnight. Drinking with the colleagues after work is part of the job; you can’t say no. (Iwashita 170)
Iwashita implies that he was never allowed to have any free time or solitude, he was always either working, or he was out drinking with his co-workers. He describes how dull and repetitive his everyday life is. Iwashita also states, “I soon lost sight of the world outside the company” (Iwashita 171). Iwashita knew that working for the company was devouring his time and freedom. Eventually he decides to value his sanity over working for the company and