In a report released Friday, the government called for a favorable work-life balance to counter Japan's falling birthrate, even as another report showed that its measures to raise the incomes of single-mother families remain little used.
According to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry's fiscal 2007 white paper on single-mother households, only 26 percent of local governments have implemented a state-sponsored program to subsidize companies promoting single mothers who work as part-timers to full-time status.
Under the program, such employers receive a single 300,000 yen incentive payment per person, but the measure has not been widely used "because local governments and companies have no common ground," a ministry official said.