If you’re an expectant father in Japan, you may be considering taking paternity leave. On paper, Japan’s policy is generous: you’re legally entitled to take up to a year’s paid leave off work.
In practice, you’ll likely face obstacles. The system is complicated and has undergone a number of changes in recent years, so there’s not much reliable, up-to-date English information. Furthermore, recent surveys found that only 17% of fathers in Japan took the childcare leave they were entitled to. While attitudes in Japan are changing, you may find your company doesn’t encourage paternity leave.
In this article we’ll share an outline of the system, explain your different options, and describe what benefits are available. We’ll also highlight recent changes to both Japanese law and prevailing cultural attitudes.
Extended paternity leave
In Japan, paternity leave falls into two main categories: Childcare at Birth Leave (出生時育児休業) and Childcare Leave (育児休業). With Childcare at Birth Leave, new fathers are eligible to take 4 weeks of leave in the 8 weeks after childbirth, and receive 67% of their salary, with a maximum of 15,190 yen per day.
By contrast, Childcare Leave is available until the day before the child’s first birthday. Fathers receive 67% of the salary for the first 180 days of the leave with an upper limit of 305,319 yen per month. After the first 180 days, 50% will be covered with a limit of 227,850 yen per month.
Childcare Leave is also available to fathers who adopt a child under one year old, starting from the adoption date.
Which program should you use?
Fathers who plan to take an extended paternity leave will typically take the first four weeks using the Childcare at Birth Leave system, and then the remainder using the Childcare Leave system. This maximizes the time they receive 67% of their salary (4 weeks + 180 days).
Who is eligible
In Japan, paternity leave is designed for people who are considered employed, so it is not available to the directors of companies or sole proprietors. However, limited term contract workers are eligible for leave, provided their contract will not be terminated before the child turns 8 months old (Childcare at Birth Leave) or 18 months old (Childcare Leave). Furthermore, in the case of Childcare Leave, those who work part-time are excluded if they have not worked at least 11 days per month, for at least 12 of the past 24 months.
Additionally, if a company has a labor-management agreement, they can exclude some people who would normally be eligible for paternity leave, including:
- Those who have worked for less than a year for the company
- Those who work less than two days per week
- In the case of Childcare Leave, those who are scheduled to end their employment or contract within one year after they apply for childcare leave
Paternity leave benefits in Japan
While taking Childcare at Birth Leave, you can receive 67% of your salary, for a maximum of 15,190 yen per day. Under Childcare Leave, you get 67% of the salary for the first 180 days of the leave, with an upper limit of 305,319 yen per month. After 180 days, but before the child’s first birthday, 50% of your salary will be covered, up to 227,850 yen per month.
While this may not seem like much, it’s worth noting that paternity leave payments are not taxable. You won’t need to pay income tax or residence tax on this benefit, nor will you need to pay for social insurance such as employment insurance, health insurance, or pension insurance while on childcare leave. This means take-home pay should be similar to your regular salary, unless you have significantly higher than average compensation.
Duration of paternity leave in Japan
Childcare Leave is available until the day before your child’s first birthday. If you go back to work before that birthday, you’ll get paid until the day before going back to work.
Additionally, if both parents are working, the Dad and Mom Childcare Leave Plus (パパ・ママ育休プラス) system allows one parent to continue their leave until their child is 14 months, for a maximum of 12 months in total. This benefit is only available if the parent starts their “Leave Plus” after the other parent has finished their leave, and if they apply for the program before the child turns 1 year old.
Furthermore, if you can’t find a daycare for your child by their first birthday, Childcare Leave can be extended to a maximum of 24 months, during which the benefit will continue to be paid.
Other forms of childcare benefits
The Child Care and Family Care Leave Act mandates several other options for working parents with young children, including the chance to work reduced hours, work remotely, or take time off for doctor visits.
Nursing Leave
Once fathers return to work, they are also entitled to take Nursing Leave (子の看護休暇). This is a day (or time) you can take off work, for the purpose of taking a child under the age of seven to the doctor, or to receive vaccinations. This leave is regulated by the Child Care and Family Care Leave Act, so a parent can take up to five days off work per child every year, regardless of the employer’s rules.
However, since the Act doesn’t mention if it’s paid or unpaid leave, you may not receive any financial support. If an employer does offer paid Nursing Leave time, the government grants a subsidy to the company. That may sound great, but to claim it, the employer needs to submit detailed and complicated paperwork to the government, in return for a 1,000 yen subsidy per hour of Nursing Leave.
Reduced work options after returning
Article 23(1) of the Child Care and Family Care Leave Act stipulates that employers must offer reduced working hours to employees with children under three. The company must provide the option for a six-hour workday, although if parents prefer they can also accept a seven-hour workday or working fewer days per week.
However, the rules around reduced work schedules were amended in May 2024, with the new provisions coming into effect throughout 2025. From April 1, 2025, employers must make an effort to allow employees with children under the age of three to work remotely if they choose. And from October 1, 2025, employers are also obligated to provide two or more of the following measures to employees with children between the ages of three and the time they enter elementary school.
- An altered start time without changing the daily working hours, either by using a flex time system or by changing both the start and finish time for the workday
- The option to work remotely without changing daily working hours, which can be used 10 or more days per month
- Company-sponsored childcare, by providing childcare facilities or other equivalent benefits (e.g., arranging for babysitters and covering the cost)
- 10 days of leave per year to support employees’ childcare without changing daily working hours
- A reduced work schedule, which must include the option of 6-hour days
There is now also a stipend to help compensate for income lost by working a reduced schedule.
Paternity leave in practice
According to a report by the Japanese government, only 17.13% of fathers took paternity leave in 2022, compared to 80.2% of women.
Parental Leave by Gender in Japan
| Year | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 17.13% | 80.2% |
| 2021 | 13.97% | 85.1% |
| 2020 | 12.65% | 81.6% |
| 2019 | 7.48% | 83.0% |
| 2018 | 6.16% | 82.2% |
The main reasons why new fathers didn’t take paternity leave were: their company was unprepared to offer them the leave (23.4%), they felt the company didn’t want them to take the leave (21.8%), and they were concerned that their income would decrease (22.6%).
Government measures to improve childcare leave uptake
A 2020 report indicated 26% of parents had experienced harassment related to pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare leave at work. For example, mothers were asked to take pay cuts or even quit work when they requested childcare leave. New fathers might be prevented from taking childcare leave altogether, or receive a demotion after returning from leave. This sort of harassment violates the regulations around parental leave, but Japanese companies tend to get away with it with few repercussions. At worst, they’ll be subject to a fine of up to only 200,000 yen.
The Japanese government is trying to improve the situation. In recent years they’ve introduced a number of policies designed to encourage paternity leave-taking, with a target that 30% of fathers in Japan take paternity leave by 2025.
First, the Child Care and Family Care Leave Act was updated twice in 2022. The first new regulation came into force in April 2022, and requires companies to give information to all new mothers and fathers about parental leave, and encourage them to take the leave. This aims to address the problem that many fathers were never offered any information about parental leave, including the financial support available. This is by no means a rare issue; according to a 2018 study, an astonishing 64.7% of fathers weren’t given this information.
The second regulation was introduced in October 2022, and granted new fathers Childcare at Birth Leave (出生時育児休業). Prior to that, only mothers could take it.
In April 2023, another amendment aimed to take companies’ policies public. Businesses with more than 1,000 employees are now required to publish an annual report with the percentage of employees who took paternity leave and maternity leave.
Conclusion
While paternity leave is not yet commonly embraced in Japan, both public and government sentiment are heading in the right direction. This shifting attitude not only gives fathers the opportunity to bond with their young children, but also will help mitigate the burdens of many working mothers in Japan who struggle to continue their career after childbirth.
It is difficult to fully quantify parental satisfaction with these new regulations, as so many of them are brand new, and have not yet been fully studied. Nonetheless,I hope these policy changes will help educate new parents on their legal rights, and enable them to balance their work and family life.
