Japan offers most paid leave for fathers in world, but few take it
June 13, 2019	04:01 pm JST	 June 21, 2019 | 12:01 am JST
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Vince Black
June 13, 2019	04:08 pm JST
They know full well that fathers won't take it, thats why they offer it so high. Just another way to improve the image over the actual reality.
Chip Star
Vince hit the nail on the head. Japan: Form over Substance.
Deadforgood
If you've worked in Japan long enough, you probably realize being offered something doesn't mean you can...
JJ Jetplane
Coming from the US. Women typically are given 3 months of paid leave while men receive 1 to 2 months of paid leave.
However, recently, more and more companies have begun to adopt an unlimited paid vacation days policy and it is helping people take longer amount of time for maternity and paternity leave.
Wasn't there a guy in Japan who recently took paternity leave and the company placed him in a position where he either had to quit his job or abandon his family? When he returned from paternity leave, they decided to transfer him far away knowing that he just had a baby and just purchased a house.
kurisupisu
The company trumps the family again in Japan!
My wife is pregnant now, her work gives her leave, not paid leave though
I think you need to contact the government. In the case that her company does not pay, the government shall pay up to 60% of her salary through social insurance.
Ehum, this is actually false information. Canada has "Parental leave" so we don't care if it's a man or a woman. So saying that fathers don't have parental leave is false information. On top of it, the maximum parental leave is of 17.75 months. If both parents split it evenly it becomes a dashing 8.9 months each... On top of that, there is also a maternity leave ( which is for before the birth) where the mother can take up to 15 weeks (about 3 months). The author didn't not read Unicef's article well. It doesn't say Canada doesn't have leave for the father, it says that Canada doesn't have parental leave "reserved" for the father, but it's not "reserved" for the mother either. It's 71 weeks for both, however they want to organize it. As much as I am happy that parental leave is available for fathers, I don't think that using fallacious title should be acceptable on a news website. It could be a honest mistake, but I think that it should be rectified.
Ref. for Canada: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/ei-maternity-parental.html
Ref. UNICEF: https://www.unicef-irc.org/family-friendly
jcapan
In keeping with so many great idea and laws and rules and benefits that are thought up, printed on paper and everything and then left to wither on the vine. Abe has made a career out of trotting out such proposals and catchphrases, crafting his own man-of-action image. Sadly, in nearly every single instance, they come with fine print at the bottom of page saying "enforcement, yeah right!"
daito_hak
In Japan, the only country that offers at least six months at full pay for fathers, only 1 in 20 took paid leave in 2017
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/06/07/national/media-national/chemical-manufacturer-kaneka-fire-paternity-harassment-allegations/#.XQIED3UzZwE
Japan so called generous paternity leave is just for decoration. People are not supposed to use it.
I'm willing to take paid leave for all these fathers who refrain from doing so.
JustMyThoughts
OK, cool. But as long a we need, reward and value human time to make money then people will work.
I'm from the USA and the trends I've seen in the last 25 years is that workers are being contracted with no benefits. Pension... naw, you need a 401k. 8 hour day... naw, be digital and work forever at home, coffee shop, who cares. Healthcare, sure... LOL, we'll make a law that you have to buy it. Etc.
Greed is in fact a deadly sin. Good luck Japanese fathers.
Updoot
My wife is pregnant now, her work gives her leave, not paid leave though.
New Zealand, Canada and Switzerland are among countries on the list offering no paternity leave.
In regards to Canada, this simply isn't true, a woman is entitled to 15 weeks of maternity leave and one or the other parent is entitled to up to 35 weeks of standard parental leave, or both parents can split up to 40 weeks of parental leave between them. There is also extended parental leave where either parent can take up to 61 weeks, or a maximum of 69 weeks if split between the two parents. While these systems do not offer full pay, maternity leave is paid at 55 percent of one's regular wages as is standard parental leave. Extended parental leave is paid at 33 percent of one's regular wages. There is, however, a weekly maximum payment for all three types of leave.
https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/ei-maternity-parental.html
Japan may very well have the longest paternity leave for fathers, but it also has the worst business culture in the world. You are lucky to get two days off for the death of a parent even though the law states up to ten days. Good luck getting a few months leave for the birth of a baby. All employees in Japan are given 20 days of annual leave after a year of servitude. However, most only take 3-5 days, if they take any at all. My Mrs and I are going overseas in August. Her company told her she is only allowed to take an extra two days off on top of her three day summer break, giving her only five days vacation. And, that will be all she can take for the full year. The other 15 vacation days in her contract will go into the slavery void. Once again we see Japan gilding the lilly with crap!
savethegaijin
Boy I wonder just how quickly they would fire my husband if he even tried to take the leave. If we do have another child, I doubt he'll be able to take off enough time to watch our daughter just while I'm in the hospital.
sakurasuki
"In Japan, the only country that offers at least six months at full pay for fathers, only 1 in 20 took paid leave in 2017," a press release said.
While still remaining at a low level, the percentage edged up to 6.16 percent in 2018, Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said last week
Six months, yes it's nice on the paper.
Of course employee can try to take it, like this guy try to take paternity leave less than one month. After he went back from his leave, his employer relocate him across Japan. Of course his company always try to maintain good image as family-friendly company.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/06/07/national/media-national/chemical-manufacturer-kaneka-fire-paternity-harassment-allegations/
No father takes leave because they will be fired when they come back. Japanese companies prefer loyalty over expierence
philly1
My Mrs and I are going overseas in August. Her company told her she is only allowed to take an extra two days off on top of her three day summer break, giving her only five days vacation. And, that will be all she can take for the full year.
That's a crime against the employee. But with benefit laws not enforced and people losing their jobs (or getting disagreeable transfers as in the case mentioned above) it's simply another thing that is the way it is in Japan. Shoganai.
I give these two the honorable common sense comment award. Nail on the head, seriously.
You can pay people financial wages that make them overly capable of being fathers/parents and contributors to a society lacking necessary things, but unfortunately that doesn't make them do so. They'd rather blow that money on the groomed kyabakura women and other selfish and greedy things. I am sure there a lot of children who would be happy to have a parent or parents who would be there for them. But just tossing money in that direction doesn't make things better either I would think. Six months paid leave!?? Did not think it was that much. Wow.
This law is one that should be enforced
June 14, 2019	12:33 am JST
Usual face saving and selfishness by japanese fathers.. men will kiss their bosses backsides into eternity while neglecting their own children.
Paid Leave for Fathers ? First I heard of it!
Asics: Apparently they make big claims about their paternity leave uptake, but one of the two in Japan who has used it is claiming paternity harassment upon return to work. 2/30 corporate officers are female.
Kaneka Corporation: In the links above: 39 corporate officers listed on their website. All men.
Old men are not going to change the corporate culture on their own. They have no interest in changing unless the law has some teeth and/or the people (customers, potential recruits, existing employees, investors, and the media - both professional and social) refuse to accept the status quo.
Good on every employee who speaks up.
Updoot, Savethegaijin, Disilllusioned, and anyone else with partners or who themselves aren't being treated according to the law, consider unionizing - or even talking about it with colleagues. Get every communication about your leave requests in writing. Make the enquiries by email and keep those. Enough of this! The time for change is here. And it's starting. We need to keep nudging that little snow ball.
From what I understood, Paternity leave was basically a short bit of leave whilst your Wife gave birth, nothing more extended beyond a day or so.
Tony G
Feminist where you at?
Abe has made a career out of trotting out such proposals and catchphrases,
The paid leave for men and the push on guys getting involved in child rearing (ikumen) actually originated with the DPJ when it was in power. It is neither an Abe thing, nor originally a LDP thing.
Boy I wonder just how quickly they would fire my husband if he even tried to take the leave.
Depends on the company. Some PR-conscious companies are begging guys to take paternity leave. You don't need to take the full term. It's "up to" not all or nothing.
No father takes leave because they will be fired when they come back.
Untrue. It is extremely difficult to fire a regular employee in Japan. They are protected almost as well as civil servants.
Updoot, Savethegaijin, Disilllusioned, and anyone else with partners or who themselves aren't being treated according to the law, consider unionizing
Indeed, and you can do that because the right to form a union in Japan is, unlike the US, guaranteed in the Japanese constitution. You don't have to win a representation election as in the US.
For some years I taught a course in Japanese to Japanese students on childcare in Japan 国際視野から見た日本の育児支援制度. As part of this course one subject I took up and that the students did presentations on was paternity leave in Japan and other countries. One fact that came out of this was that the Nordic countries that pioneered paternity leave initially had very low take up rates. It was only after they had taking leaving effectively compulsory that most fathers took it.
alwaysspeakingwisdom
"They know full well that fathers won't take it, thats why they offer it so high. Just another way to improve the image over the actual reality."
But in America as the article stated:
"The United States stands out for being the only country from the list of nations, drawn from the members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the European Union, not to offer paid leave for mothers or fathers."
So in Japan you can take leave if you want to take leave but in America, you can't take leave even if you wanted to take leave.
Just another example of a typical JT poster's comment: emotion over logic.
CaptDingleheimer
Europe is often spoken of enviously here in the US for similar labor policies. But European friends tell me that, at least in the corporate world, one would be acting detrimental to one's career should the time allowed by law actually be used.
Ganbare Japan!
Japan leads the world in paid leave set aside for fathers,
Well done Japan. It would be nice to see other nations step up and offer such benefits to fathers. Japanese government recognizes that both mother and father are equally important to babies early life. Good job!!
"Estonia ranked No. 1 in the world for its generous maternity leave offering 86 weeks, followed by Hungary with 72 weeks and Bulgaria with 66 weeks."
All them economic superpowers.
"Japan may very well have the longest paternity leave for fathers, but it also has the worst business culture in the world. "
Another day and another statement by a JT posters lacking any semblance to logic. If Japan has the worst business culture in the world, how can it have the longest and best paid paternity leave in the world?
Moreover, what adjective would you to describe a country's business culture that as the article stated:
"The United States stands out for being the only country from the list of nations, drawn from the members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the European Union, not to offer paid leave for mothers or fathers."?