And what is the solution to increasing the birth rate in Japan? A four-day work week

December 10, 2024   

Tokyo is launching a pilot in which employees in local government institutions will switch to a four-day work week. The pilot is being carried out as part of a comprehensive plan designed to increase the birth rate in Japan. This was reported by Alex Nirenburg in Kan News. According to the plan, female employees in government institutions in Tokyo will now be able to work only four days a week or alternatively work five days, but end the workday two hours earlier. The pilot in the program has entered the implementation phase against the backdrop of the continued decline in the birth rate in Japan. According to Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, "the goal is to create a situation in which women will not have to choose between a career and bringing a child into the world." In the first half of 2024, only about 350,000 births were recorded in Japan, a decrease of about 61% compared to the same period last year and the lowest figure since systematic monitoring of birth rates began in 1969. The fertility rate - the number of children a Japanese woman is expected to have during her lifetime - fell to a low of only 1.2 children. The number of married couples - about 474,000 - is also the lowest in the country's history. In addition, the data show that about 30 percent of Japan's population is over the age of 65. According to official data published last year, Japan's population is expected to decrease by about 40 million people by 2060, from 124 million to only about 86 million.