It came to be believed that a society as rich as Japan's should rethink its seemingly inhuman attitude towards work. At the same time, Japan's extreme working hours attracted the concern of Western countries, which further encouraged the Japanese to reflect more deeply on the problem.
爾後，「個人式災害主義」受到強烈批判，咸認日本社會富裕，應該檢討的是非人性化的勞動觀，而日本工時過長的問題，也一再引發歐美社會的關切，國際壓力讓日本社會有所省思。