Japanese Paternity Leave Too Short

Female workers have longer leave times per child than male counterparts, according to a survey from Kyodo News.

By Maggie Mancini

More than 80% of major companies in Japan report that male employees receive less than three months of paternity leave while female employees receive longer leave times, according to a recent survey from Kyodo News. The survey, which covered 113 companies between November and December, finds that around half of organisations report in their securities filings that at least 80% of their male employees take paternity leave, regardless of the length.  

What is the duration of the parental leave for men? 

• 47% say that the average length per child is one month to less than three months. 
• 25% report their paternity leave is two weeks to less than one month. 
• About 13% say that leave averages five days to less than two weeks. 
• 4% report three months to less than six months 
• 2% say less than five days.  

In contrast, female workers take much longer leave times, with more than half (51%) taking an average of 12 months to 18 months, and 27% reporting six to 12 months. About 8% say that maternity leave lasts 18 months or more, and 4% report that their policy is less than six months.  

Respondents say that female employees face lagging career advancement (59%), restrictions in work hours (30%), and delays in pay raises (19%) after taking longer parental leave than male workers.