JAPAN

IBM Orders Working Hours Cut: International Business Machines Corp. has told employees at its Japanese subsidiary not to work so hard and ordered managers to set an example by taking more holidays. The company plans to cut working hours to about 1,873 this year from 1,923 in 1991, a spokeswoman said. It wants to drop to 1,800 working hours by 1994 and wants each worker to take average paid leave of 17 days this year, up from 14 days in 1991. The government is encouraging the Japanese to work less. Many people do not take even the paid holidays to which they are entitled. Japan--where death by overwork has its own word, karoshi-- has the longest working hours of any major industrialized country.