Prime Minister Shinzo Abe set forth on Friday new goals to spur economic growth by tapping the potential of women in the workforce, including dramatically increasing the number of day care centers and giving both men and women longer child care leave.
To shorten the waiting lists for day care centers, the government will encourage the building of more facilities through deregulation and subsidies, Abe said at the Japan National Press Club. The goal will be to accommodate 200,000 more children nationwide by 2015 and another 200,000 by 2017.
The government meanwhile will establish a subsidy for companies that allow men and women to leave their jobs until their children are 3 years old, he said. Currently, workers are entitled to take infant-related leave of 12 to 18 months.