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May 09, 2024
 

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PARENTHOOD

Beyond factors such as the "motherhood penalty," Japanese women struggle to advance in their careers due to the structure of the workforce, including the two-tiered clerical versus managerial track.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 6, 2024
Why is it taking so long to break the glass ceiling?
Japan isn't unique in having a thick glass ceiling, but some factors don't apply to other countries, like the U.S., where many more managers are women.
A childhood snapshot of Shohei Ohtani and his mother, Kayoko, posted on MLB’s account on social media website X.
BASEBALL
Mar 7, 2024
'Sporting geniuses are made, not born': How to be an all-star sports parent
If you want your child to be a top 1% athlete like Shohei Ohtani, a good place to start is to take a look at what his parents did.
An employee organizes baby supplies at a store in Siheung, South Korea, on Tuesday. A lack of babies is speeding up the aging of South Korean society, generating concerns about the growing fiscal burden of public pensions and healthcare.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Feb 28, 2024
South Korea keeps shattering its own record for lowest fertility rate
The number of babies expected per woman in a lifetime fell to 0.72 last year from 0.78 in 2022.
Hiroki Matsubara (right) and Yamato, who has Down syndrome, are pictured in Nara in November. Matsubara founded Migiwa, which aims to protect unwanted babies and help place them with new families through plenary adoption.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 27, 2024
New families sought for children with disabilities via adoption
The majority of the approximately 50 cases nonprofit Migiwa takes on each year involve children with disabilities.
The ratio of men who took paternity leave stood at 17.1% in a survey for the fiscal year from April 2022, far below the government's 2025 target of 50%.
BUSINESS
Feb 26, 2024
Japan plans to make firms set and disclose paternity leave targets
Under a planned bill, companies with over 100 employees would have to set and disclose the targets from April 2025.
The government plans to establish a system that allows any child to enroll in day care establishments regardless of whether their parents work or not.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2024
Japan's Cabinet OKs bill on measures to tackle falling birthrate
The bill includes plans to expand child benefits and establish a system allowing any child to enroll in day care establishments.
Under a proposed joint custody system, if parents cannot reach an agreement, a family court would make a decision based on the interests of the child and family relations.
JAPAN
Feb 15, 2024
Government panel proposes allowing joint child custody
Based on the report from the Legislative Council, the government plans to submit a related bill during the ongoing ordinary session of parliament.
Stella Belia (right), a member of the Rainbow Families of Greece, an organization which focuses on LGBTQ parents, poses for a portrait with her son, Yannis, in Athens, on Jan. 30. Greek lawmakers are set approve a historic bill legalizing same-sex marriage and adoption this week, having previously been condemned for anti-gay discrimination by the European Court of Human Rights in 2013, after gay couples were excluded from a prior civil unions law in 2008.
WORLD / Society
Feb 14, 2024
No longer invisible, Greek same-sex couples await landmark law
The issue is a strong taboo for a large part of Greek society — and for the powerful Orthodox Church of Greece.
A recent Kyodo News survey on paternity leave at Japanese firms highlights that women continue to play the dominant role in child-rearing, as they take longer leave times.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 11, 2024
87% of firms say paternity leave averages less than three months
On the duration of such leave taken, the largest group of 47% said the average length per child was "one month to less than three months."
University students experience taking care of a child at the house of a company employee taking child care leave in Osaka.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 5, 2024
1 in 5 Japanese university students do not want children: survey
The largest cohort at 57.4% cited "a lack of confidence about raising a child" as their reason.
People sort relief supplies, including sanitary napkins, diapers and baby formula, in Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Sunday, over a month after a New Year's Day quake hit the area.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 5, 2024
Emergency maternity and baby supplies lacking in parts of Japan
The study showed that while 82.5% of municipalities stocked sanitary napkins, only 11.9% kept underwear for women.
Aeon is aiming to encourage male workers to take child care leave. While almost all of its female employees currently take child care leave when they have a child, the rate for male employees is only 15%.
BUSINESS
Feb 2, 2024
Aeon employees to receive 100% of income during child care leave
The retailer aims to gradually roll out the program from March to some 150 group companies.
The family law subcommittee of the Legislative Council, at the Justice Ministry on Tuesday
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2024
Government to submit bill allowing joint custody after divorce
The draft outline calls for a new provision obliging both parents to respect each other, and for divorce negotiations to determine parental authority.
Yuta (left) and Masumi Aoki stand in front of their food truck in Shibukawa, Gunma Prefecture, on Nov. 29. The couple, whose son died at a pediatric center following a yearlong battle with leukemia, are trying to support distraught and worn-down families by providing nutritious and well-balanced homemade meals.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 30, 2024
Couple provide homemade meals to support families of sick children
Yuta and Masumi Aoki's son Kazuma died at a pediatric center following a yearlong battle with leukemia.
At 34.1%, the ratio of single men and women who have never had a romantic relationship was at a record high since Recruit Holdings Co., a staffing service group, began conducting surveys on people's views on marriage in 2017.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 6, 2024
Record one-third of Japan's unmarried adults under 50 have never dated
At 34.1%, the ratio was at a record high since Recruit Holdings Co. began conducting surveys on people's views on marriage in 2017.
Erin Lim, CEO of baby products company Konny, in front of her company's new office in Seoul. Early starts and late finishes to workdays are routine in South Korea, a country notorious for its hard-driving corporate culture, but Erin Lim knew she wanted to do things differently at her business.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 28, 2023
South Korean mother's office-free firm sparks hope amid birthrate woes
South Korea has some of the world's lowest birth rates, and despite government incentives many women choose not to become mothers.
Local media in China exposed a secretive surrogacy service that may be helping to deliver more than 300 babies a year.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Dec 27, 2023
Chinese media expose prompts probe into illegal baby surrogacy
Despite Beijing’s repeated crackdowns and an outright ban, underground surrogacy services continue to thrive in China.
Children take part in Christmas activities in Tokyo's Minato Ward on Saturday.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 25, 2023
Japan to open nursery places to all children by fiscal 2025
At the moment, typically only children from families where both the parents are working are admitted to day care.
University of Tokyo students attend their graduation ceremony in the capital's Bunkyo Ward on March 24.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 22, 2023
Japan to expand subsidized college tuition for large families
Free college tuition will be offered to at least one child in a family with three or more children, regardless of its income.
Ayako Shimazaki, editor in charge of the manga “Light Blue Embryologist,” described the work of embryologists as “an important job that involves the beginning of life.”
JAPAN / Society
Dec 21, 2023
Manga brings realities of fertility treatment to mass audience
The series revolves around a narrative that follows interactions between aspiring parents who visit a fertility clinic and an embryologist.
Tokuryū, a new crime menace in Japan, emerges from the shadows
The National Police Agency coined the term "tokuryū" to classify individuals involved in dark part time jobs and quasi-gangsters, using the words "tokumei" (anonymous) and "ryūdo" (fluid) to reflect their characteristics.
Thanks, tourists. Views of Mount Fuji are now blocked.
Tourists pose in front of a convenience store with Mount Fuji on Friday in the town of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture. Local residents are upset over littering, overcrowding and the inconvenience caused by the visitors.
Is Modi’s party heading for a stunning election loss?
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign tactics have escalated, including anti-Muslim rhetoric and fearmongering, reflecting his ruling party's desperation.
Two more arrested over brutal murder of couple in Tochigi
A vehicle carrying Seiha Sekine, the 32-year-old common-law husband of the deceased Tokyo couple's first daughter, leaves a police station in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward on Tuesday.
After blockbuster boxing victory, what next for ‘Monster’ Inoue?
Naoya Inoue celebrates his victory over Luis Nery in their IBF-WBA-WBC-WBO super bantamweight title boxing match at Tokyo Dome on Monday.
Stormy seas ahead as Beijing and Manila trade barbs over secret deal
Philippine Marines wave to Philippine Navy personnel and the media during a resupply mission at their military outpost, the BRP Sierra Madre, a warship run aground in the disputed Second Thomas Shoal in 1999, in the South China Sea, in March 2014.
Unlike 10 years ago, Japan's new security bill sparks little debate
The Lower House starts discussing a security clearance bill on April 19 in Tokyo.
After blockbuster boxing victory, what next for ‘Monster’ Inoue?
Naoya Inoue celebrates his victory over Luis Nery in their IBF-WBA-WBC-WBO super bantamweight title boxing match at Tokyo Dome on Monday.
Xi bristles as Macron and von der Leyen urge China to do more on Ukraine
French President Emmanuel Macron, Chinese leader Xi Jinping and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen walk after their meeting in Paris on Monday.
How a Japanese scientist is turning the climate crisis into music
A screencap of a performance of Hiroto Nagai's “String Quartet No. 1 ‘Polar Energy Budget’” by the PRT Quartet

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces
By Stephen Mansfield

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