Stress not a stranger to Japanese

In a country where worn-out commuters fall asleep on their feet in trains and staff demonstrate loyalty by failing to take their holidays, the foreign word most recognised by Japanese is "stress", a government survey said.

Of 2,200 people polled nationwide, 97.4% were familiar with the word - adopted into the Japanese language as sutoresu, said the report of the cultural affairs agency.

Similar foreign borrowings that made the top 20 recognised words picked from a 120-word quiz included "leadership," "performance", and "full-time".

Hard work has long been considered a virtue in Japanese culture. But the zeal with which it can be upheld has sparked concern.

The health ministry says a record number of Japanese died of overwork last year.

The poll was conducted among Japanese aged 16 years or older.