Amid an increase in two-income households in Japan, the rate of men who take paternity leave is extremely low, and the availability of day care services remains insufficient. So who looks is looking after the children? The answer is often grandparents.
In step with this trend, some companies have introduced systems allowing employees to take leave to care for their grandchildren.
Yukiko Nikaido, a 58-year-old employee at Toho Bank in the city of Fukushima, is one such person who as taken "grandchild-care leave."