Tokyo to propose 4-day work week for government staff in push for parenthood
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Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has called Japan’s stubbornly low birth rate a “quiet emergency”.
PHOTO: AFP
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TOKYO – Tokyo’s governor wants to introduce a four-day work week for government staff in the capital as part of a nationwide push to encourage parenthood.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has called Japan’s stubbornly low birth rate a “quiet emergency”
The expectation that working mothers should still shoulder domestic burdens, raise children and care for relatives is believed to be a key factor behind the dearth of babies.
To make work-life balance easier for parents, Governor Yuriko Koike wants to offer civil servants employed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government the option to work a truncated week beginning in April.
“Lagging behind in women’s empowerment is Japan’s longstanding issue, and overcoming the status quo and making society more diverse and prosperous is key for our bright future,” she said in a policy speech to the assembly.
She added: “We will start with thorough support for work-life balance by introducing a more flexible working hour system, such as three holidays per week.”
Under the plan, government staff, except shift workers, may take off up to three days weekly, but will still need to complete 155 hours per month, Ms Sachi Ikegami, a Tokyo Metropolitan Government official in charge of personnel affairs, said on Dec 4.
Employees raising young children will also be offered more flexible hours, with work days shortened by up to two hours.
A four-day work week is rare in Japan, but it is gradually catching on in local governments seeking to strengthen support for parents.
While many developed countries are struggling with low birth rates, the problem is particularly acute in Japan, where the population has declined for 15 straight years.
It has the world’s second-oldest population
Ms Koike, a former minister and television anchor who has governed one of the world’s biggest cities since 2016, won a third term in July on vows to boost Tokyo’s social welfare benefits while acknowledging challenges like inflation and the plummeting birth rate.
Her administration plans to submit a draft proposal on flexible working hours to the Tokyo assembly in 2025. AFP
