Tokyo introduces four-day workweek for government workers to boost birth rates


Tokyo will implement a four-day workweek for government employees next year to encourage young people to get married and start families. Sociologists have blamed Japan’s plunging birth rates on the high cost of living and grueling work culture. File Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI | License Photo

Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Tokyo will implement a four-day workweek for government employees next year to encourage young people to get married and start families.

Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike announced employees of the metropolitan government would be allowed to take three days off every week, starting in April, to help working mothers and boost record-low fertility rates.

"Now is the time for Tokyo to take the initiative to protect and enhance the lives, livelihoods and economy of our people during these challenging times for the nation," Koike said last week.

Other policies will encourage couples to have more children by providing paternity leave for men and allowing parents of elementary school first through third-graders to trade part of their salaries to leave work early.

"We will review work styles ... with flexibility, ensuring no one has to give up their career due to life events such as childbirth or childcare," Koike added.

Last year, only 727,277 births were recorded in Japan, according to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, as more women are forced to choose between careers and families. Sociologists have blamed Japan's plunging birth rates on the country's grueling work culture and high cost of living.

The record-low birthrate of 1.2, which relates to the number of children a woman has in her lifetime, is forcing the Japanese government to reverse its population crisis. It takes a fertility rate of 2.1 for a population to remain stable.

Nonprofit organization 4 Day Week Global conducted a series of four-day workweek pilot programs in 2022 and found that more than nine out of 10 workers wanted to continue their four-day workweek, saying it gave them improved work-life balance, lessened their stress and improved their physical and mental health.

Earlier this year, Singapore introduced new guidelines that require all companies to consider employee requests for flexible work arrangements, including four-day workweeks and staggered hours.