Tokyo is introducing a four-day workweek for city employees in an effort to ease the burden on parents and support young families. The policy change aims to address factors contributing to many Japanese couple’s reluctance to have children. The country’s declining fertility rate last year dipped to a record-low 1.2 children expected per woman during her lifetime. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike announced this week that, starting in April, employees of the metropolitan government will have the option to take three days off each week. “We’ll keep reviewing our work styles flexibly so that nobody has to give up their careers due to life events such as childbirth and childcare,” Koike said during a policy speech at the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly’s fourth regular session. “Now is the time for Tokyo to take the initiative to protect and enhance the lives, livelihoods, and economy of our people during these challenging times for the nation,” she added.
Many of Tokyo’s city workers enjoy some flexibility, such as being able to choose when to clock in and out and the option to take one weekday off every four weeks. In her remarks, Koike also announced a separate policy to permit parents of students in grades one to three to leave work up to two hours early in exchange for a slightly reduced salary. Japan’s demographic woes continue to deepen, raising questions of the long-term effects on Asia’s second-largest economy. Between January and June, the country recorded just 350,074 births—a nearly 6 percent year-on-year decline and the lowest six-month figure since records began in 1969. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 2 percent to 811,819, setting another 55-year record. Nearly 30 percent of Japan’s population is now over 65. The fertility rate, or the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime, fell to a record low of 1.2 last year. Marriages also dipped to 474,717, the fewest since World War II. Japan’s Health Ministry has warned that the country has only a few years left to reverse its demographic decline. In response, central and local governments have rolled out various initiatives, from cash allowances per child to matchmaking apps, in an effort to boost birth rates.
The government has been encouraging companies to adopt a four-day work week since 2021. However, the Associated Press have reported that only about 8 percent of companies have implemented the policy.
The idea of a shorter workweek has been gaining steam in some countries. Iceland, for example, has given many employees this option, with over 50 percent of employees taking advantage of the offer between 2020 and 2022, according to a recent study conducted by the U.K.’s Autonomy Institute and Iceland’s Association for Sustainability and Democracy. Research suggests both employers and employees can reap clear benefits with fewer hours on the clock. A 2022 study by the University of Cambridge—the world’s largest trial of a four-day work week—found that 71 percent of employees reported lower levels of burnout, while 30 percent felt less stressed. The study also found a 57 percent reduction in staff turnover during the six-month trial period.
Newsweek
