Business Notes ADVERTISING

"Can you fight 24 hours, Japanese businessman?" The satirical question, posed by a commercial jingle now running on Japanese television, has struck a chord in that workaholic society. The mock-martial melody promotes Regain, a caffeine-and-vitamin beverage billed as a pick-me-up for weary workers. Sales of Regain, produced by pharmaceutical giant Sankyo, have jumped sharply since the jingle went on the air last June and became a national craze. The Japanese are dancing to the Regain song at bars and singing it at schools, offices, athletic meets and cultural festivals.

Last November Epic/Sony released a CD single of the jingle, sung by actor Saburo Tokito, who plays an oddly intrepid businessman in Regain's surreal commercials. So far, the CD has sold 300,000 copies and topped the Japanese pop-music chart. Definitely not amused: Japan's Labor Ministry, which has been trying to persuade the Japanese to shorten their workweek.