Japan's paternity leave take-up rate hits record high
The labor and welfare ministry surveyed 6,300 businesses across the country last October. Some 3,300 businesses responded.
Among men whose spouses gave birth during the year through September 2023, 40.5 percent of them began taking paternity leave by October 1 last year.
The figure is the highest ever, up 10.4 percentage points from the previous fiscal year.
The proportion of women who took childcare leave was 86.6 percent, up 2.5 points.
Based on the law on childcare and family care leave that was revised three years ago, businesses are obliged to confirm whether employees who report pregnancy or childbirth would like to take childcare leave.
A system that allows male employees to take paternity leave of up to four weeks within eight weeks of childbirth has also started.
Ministry officials say that these measures are now widely known and this may have led to the increase in the take-up rate.
The government plans to raise the take-up rate to 50 percent by the end of this year, and 85 percent by 2030.
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