Edition: U.S. / Global  TOKYO JOURNAL; It's Official! Vacations
Really Aren't Un-Japanese  By SUSAN CHIRA, Special to the New
York Times Published: August 6, 1988  It is hard work getting
Japanese to relax. But the summer holidays are looming, and the
Labor Ministry is gearing up for a tough campaign.  Officials
have embarked on a 47-city lecture tour, joining company
managers to deliver pep talks like ''How to Work and Rest in a
Relaxed Society'' and ''Our Company's Restful Week.''  Posters
are going up across the nation showing two Japanese in safari
suits lolling on the ground next to a reclining leopard. Each
poster bears this summer's slogan: ''Hotto Week,'' a pun on the
English word ''hot'' and a Japanese word for relaxation.  But
the objective still seems remote. Last year, the number of hours
Japanese actually worked rose, despite a new law aimed at
gradually reducing the nation's 48-hour workweek to 40 hours.
And Labor Ministry statistics show that Japanese workers take
only half the 15 paid holiday