Oh baby!
Tokyo is offering its employees a four-day work week in an effort to boost the city’s birthrate.
Governor Yuriko Koike recently announced that city government employees will be given the option of a three-day weekend starting in April 2025.
Another new policy will allow parents with primary-aged children to exit work early in exchange for a pay cut.
The revolutionary policies in the world’s largest city are attempting to encourage couples to have children as Japan reports a record-low fertility rate for the 16th consecutive year.
The number of babies born in Tokyo is set to decline by more than 15% between 2012 and 2022.
Tokyo’s four-day experiment comes after several studies and efforts found that Shorter work week leads to a long list of benefits For a company and its employees.
Similar programs have already been launched in other areas of Japan.
Koike said in a policy speech at the fourth regular session of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, “We will review work styles… with flexibility, while ensuring that no one has the time to adapt to life events such as childbirth or child care.” Because you won’t have to give up your career.” NBC reported,
“Now is the time for Tokyo to take the initiative to protect and enhance the lives, livelihoods and economy of our people during this challenging time for the country,” Koike said.
In 2023, Japan’s fertility rate is projected to drop to 1.2 children per woman expected in her lifetime; Experts claim that the country needs that number to reach at least 2.1 for the population to remain stable.
Experts believe the decline in birth rates is partly due to Japan’s intense work culture. The country even has a term for “death from overwork” – Karoshi – which often forces women to choose between their career or family.
The country has the largest gender gap in labor force participation of any high-income country – 55% for women and 72% for men, last year. According to the World Bank,
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As more Japanese women increasingly choose to focus on their careers rather than their families, the country is struggling with a labor shortage and the highest proportion of the elderly in the world.
To deal with the ongoing issue, Japan has offered cash incentives, tax breaks for large families, built more daycare centers, and even issued a government sponsored dating app For this, users have to promise that they are using it with the goal of marriage.
