Faced with a shortage of workers, Japanese companies are taking matters into their own hands, helping the government fix a chronic lack of day care facilities that is blunting efforts to get more women into the workforce.

Nichiigakkan Co., which provides hospital administration and care services, is among more than 500 companies approved for new subsidies to start their own nursery schools. It plans to have 100 by the end of next year, with the first 31 to open this April.

"It's important for the private sector to build child care facilities near workplaces in a flexible manner, because it has become a major challenge to secure employees," said Shoichi Iida, a spokesman at Nichiigakkan, which has 95,000 employees. "We can't leave the matter to municipalities alone."