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The Tokyo metropolitan government plans to introduce a four-day week for its employees to encourage young families and boost the low birth rate. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike announced that Tokyo Metropolitan Government employees will be able to take three days off per week starting in April. In her keynote speech at the fourth regular session of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, she said: "We will explore flexible work styles so that people do not have to leave their jobs due to life events such as the birth of a child or child care." The new regulation is aimed at couples to encourage people to become parents at a time when Japan's birth rate is at an all-time low. According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the number of children a woman can have in her lifetime fell to just 1.2 last year, despite the government's increased efforts to encourage young people to start families . For the population to remain stable, the number must be at least 2.1.
Quick also announced a new policy that allows parents of school-age children to trade a portion of their salary for the opportunity to leave school early. He added: "At this difficult time for the country, Tokyo must take the initiative to protect and improve the lives, livelihoods and economy of its people." According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare last year Only 727,277 births were registered in Japan. One reason for this could be the Japanese overtime culture, which forces women to choose between having children and working. According to a World Bank report, the gender gap in labor force participation in the country last year was 72 percent for men and 55 percent for women, higher than other high-income countries. On the other hand, a four-day week could give officers more time for their families. The aim of this policy is to help working parents, especially women, to better balance work responsibilities and child care. Part of the plan is also a new regulation that allows parents of young children to reduce their working hours to two hours a day.
The new policy allows more than 160,000 Tokyo Metropolitan Government employees to take Friday off. Several companies took part in a four-day week trial in 2022 as part of a series of global trials organized by the NGO 4 Day Week Global. More than 90 percent of employees participating in the experiment expressed a desire to continue working four days a week. They said their happiness, work-life balance, and physical and mental health improved. Work and family conflicts, job burnout, stress and fatigue decreased. These participants rated their experience 9.1 out of 10.
