National Sep 30, 2020
Men have tended to be reluctant to take child care leave, due to uncertainties about their income and pressure from their workplace.
National Sep 23, 2020
Nearly all of Japan's new fathers in public service plan paternity leave
"We're hopeful that the plans will actually be put into action," an official at the Cabinet Bureau of Personnel Affairs said.
National Aug 28, 2020
Most Japan bureaucrats taking paternity leave to be off for month
The release of the data follows the start of an initiative to have managers in central government create child care leave plans for their male subordinates.
General Jul 7, 2020
Swedish ambassador to Japan offers hints on making the best of paternity leave
by Junko Horiuchi
Pereric Hoegberg wants Japanese fathers to take a more active role in parenting.
National / Social Issues Jul 1, 2020
A private panel advising the government is also calling for creating an environment where all new fathers can take paternity leave.
National / Social Issues May 14, 2020
Paternity leave still not widely embraced in Japan, survey shows
With the number of male workers who take child care leave showing no notable growth, the government's goal of raising the share of eligible men taking such leave to 13 percent in 2020 remains far out of reach. According to a labor ministry survey for ...
National | FOCUS Mar 24, 2020
Japan pushes male public servants to take longer paternity leave
The government will encourage its eligible male personnel to use child-rearing leave for at least a month in principle, starting in fiscal 2020. Although the number of government employees taking paternity leave has been increasing, the period booked is shorter than a month in most ...
National / Media | Japan Pulse Mar 21, 2020
Family dynamic shifts as schools remain closed nationwide
by Kaori Shoji
Japanese dads are coming under scrutiny — again. Ever since Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi officially made ikumen (men who take an active role in child-rearing) fashionable by publicly taking two weeks off for paternity leave, fathers who let their spouses shoulder all the burden ...
National Mar 16, 2020
Fathers at many Japanese firms take less than month of paternity leave
The average period of paternity leave taken by new fathers is shorter than the period widely viewed as necessary to support postpartum mothers at more than half of large Japanese firms, a Kyodo News survey has shown. In a survey of 110 big companies, 64 ...
National / Social Issues Feb 27, 2020
Japan Inc. urged to change entrenched views of paternity leave
by Maya Kaneko
As one of the country's most high-profile politicians breaks new ground for a Cabinet minister by taking paternity leave, some lawmakers and businesses are aiming to change the way corporate Japan views time off for new dads. Although Japan leads the world in paid-leave provisions ...
National / Social Issues | Commentary Feb 13, 2020
Can Japan kick-start paternity leave among workaholic dads?
by Thisanka Siripala
In January, Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi received worldwide attention after surprising the public with his plan to take parental leave shortly before the birth of his first child. As the son of a former prime minister, Koizumi, 38, is a high-profile politician described as the ...