A record 34% of eligible male central government workers in Japan took paternity leave in the fiscal year ended in March, the minister in charge of civil service reform said Tuesday.
The figure, up 5 percentage points from the previous fiscal year, surpassed the government's target of raising the ratio of men taking such leave to 30% by 2025, Taro Kono said at a news conference.
Even though the target has been achieved, Kono pointed out that the ratio differed greatly among ministries and that he would instruct the Cabinet Bureau of Personnel Affairs to urge ministries that fell short to raise the ratio.
Among the ministries with high numbers were the Finance Ministry with 83.3% and the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry with 77.5%. Those with low figures were the Defense Ministry with 10.9% and the Foreign Ministry with 34.1%.
Meanwhile, the overall rate for taking paternity leave in the country, which is struggling with a declining birth rate, remains low.
Data showed that only around 7.5% of employed new fathers in Japan took time off, despite the country's father-specific leave system being by far the most generous among OECD countries.
Men in Japan are eligible for the equivalent of 31.9 fully paid weeks off, more than other leading countries like South Korea, Luxembourg and Norway, according to a report updated in September by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.