Every now and then, we would take a short break from work by doing a brief workout or some stretching just to shake some of the fatigue away.
A man in Japan took things a tad too far when his supervisors discovered that he had skipped work to visit the gym hundreds of times, leading to his dismissal.
Japanese man visits gym 633 times during working hours
According to a news report by NHK, the 55-year-old supervisor was working at the Matsuyama City’s Urban Development Division.
However, during his time there, he was seen often slipping away to the gym during working hours. An individual later provided a tip-off to the Matsuyama City government, prompting an investigation.

Their investigation eventually revealed that the man had visited the gym a total of 633 times, causing him to miss 658 hours of work since April 2021.
When questioned by the authorities, the man fully owned up to his actions and explained why he frequented the gym so many times.
I had a numbness in my arms, so I went to the gym to stretch. After that, I’d soak in the gym’s hot spring bath to further soothe my arms. I went too far and regret it.”
As such, he was fired from his job on Dec 27, 2024.

Ordered to pay back RM50k in missed hours
Aside from being fired from his job, the man was also ordered to pay back ¥1.76million (approx. RM50,000) that he had caused the city to bear due to his gym escapades, which he readily agreed to do so.
His four superiors were also given a stern warning by the authorities for failing to keep their employer’s gym activities in check.
Following the incident, Matsuyama City’s mayor publicly apologised and promised not to let such incidents from happening again.
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