More Japanese Fathers Taking Parental Leave
More Japanese fathers are taking parental leave, according to new government data.
In 2023, about 30% of working fathers took parental leave after their children were born. That's a jump of 13 percentage points from 2022, and the 11th year in succession that the number has increased.
South Korea has also seen an increase in men taking parental leave.
Both countries have low birth rates, and their governments want to change that and make life easier for new parents. Other couples may be more likely to have children if they see that the situation for parents is improving.
In Japan, since 2022, companies have had to be clear with their employees about the leave they can take when a child is born. The idea was to make it easier and more socially acceptable for men to take leave.
And it may just have worked.
In 2023, almost 16% of men took fewer than five days of parental leave, and 22% took between five days and two weeks.
One in five took between two weeks and a month, and 28% took between one and three months.
However, some have said that it's easier for workers at bigger companies to take parental leave. Large companies can more easily replace employees on leave, while this is not as easy for smaller businesses.
The government wants half of all male parents to take parental leave by 2025.
By comparison, more than 84% of women took parental leave last year, and more than nine out of 10 of them took six months or more off work.
