The Tokyo metropolitan government has introduced a new initiative to address the country’s low birth rate by allowing employees to work only four days a week.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike announced that starting April next year, metropolitan government employees will have the option to take three days off each week. She emphasized the importance of re-evaluating and changing work practices to ensure no one has to leave their career due to major life events like childbirth or childcare.
This measure aims to increase Japan’s fertility rate, which, according to the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare, stood at 1.2 last year — significantly below the 2.1 rate needed for population stability.
It is worth noting that only 727,277 births were registered in Japan last year, reflecting alarmingly low birth rates. One contributing factor is the culture of excessive working hours in Japan, which often forces women to choose between their careers and motherhood.
