"Japan targets 85% of male workers to take paternity leave by FY 2030" 17 March 2023

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged Friday to implement the necessary measures to allow 85% of male workers who have a child to take paternity leave by fiscal 2030 to tackle the falling birthrate.

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In Japan, 85.1% of women took maternity leave in fiscal 2021, but only 13.97% of men did so. Many workers worry taking the time off may increase their colleagues' workload.

The number of babies born in Japan in 2022 fell to a new record low for the seventh consecutive year, dropping below 800,000 for the first time since records began in 1899, government data showed late last month.

Kishida has expressed an eagerness to increase spending to fight the declining birthrate, saying that focusing on child policies is this year's most pressing agenda item, but he has stopped short of clarifying how to secure the budget.

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