Tokyo government launches 4-day work-week to aid families amid low fertility

Tokyo's government plans a four-day workweek starting in April to boost low fertility rates.

The Tokyo government intends to implement a four-day workweek for its staff in an effort to encourage young families and raise the country's historically low fertility rates.

In an attempt to boost the nation's historically low fertility rates and promote young families, the Tokyo government plans to introduce a four-day workweek for its employees.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike announced that the metropolitan government's employees will be able to take three days off every week beginning in April.

"With flexibility, we will review work styles to ensure that no one has to give up their career due to life events like childbirth or child care," she stated in a policy speech at the fourth regular session of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly.

At a time when Japan's fertility rate is at an all-time low, the new policy aims to encourage couples to become parents. According to the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare, despite the government's intensified efforts to encourage young people to start families, it fell to just 1.2 children predicted per woman throughout her lifetime last year. For a population to be steady, that figure must be at least 2.1.

Koike also announced a new policy that would allow parents of primary school-aged children to exchange a portion of their pay for the opportunity to leave work early.

"In these difficult times for the country, Tokyo must take the initiative to safeguard and improve the lives, livelihoods, and economy of our people," she added.

Japan registered just 727,277 births last year, according to the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare. The culture of overtime labour in Japan, which frequently forces women to choose between having kids and jobs, may be partially to blame for that.

According to the World Bank, last year's gender disparity in the country's labour force participation was 72% for men and 55% for women, which is more than in other high-income countries.

On the other hand, a four-day workweek may provide government workers more time to spend with their families. The goal of the policy is to assist working parents, especially women, in striking a better balance between their professional and childcare responsibilities. A new mechanism that allows parents of small children to cut back on their working hours by up to two hours every day is also part of the programme.

The new arrangement will allow more than 160,000 workers of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to have Fridays off.

Several businesses participated in a four-day workweek pilot program in 2022 as part of a global trial series organised by the NGO 4 Day Week Global.

Over 90% of the employees who took part in the trials expressed a desire to keep working four days a week. They said it enhanced their happiness, work-life balance, and physical and mental health.

Their work-family conflict, burnout, stress, and weariness all decreased. Those participants rated their experience 9.1 out of 10.