81.5% of women in Japan take childcare leave
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TOKYO - The percentage of female workers who took childcare leave in fiscal 2015 fell 5.1 percentage points from the previous fiscal year to 81.5 per cent, while that of male workers rose 0.35 percentage points to 2.65 per cent, according to the health, l
The percentage of men edged up and was the highest ever recorded. But the figure for women hit its lowest level since fiscal 2007, when it surpassed 80 per cent. The survey was conducted on 5,850 businesses across the nation, and 67.7 per cent made valid replies.
In large businesses with 500 or more employees, the percentage of women who took childcare leave was 93.8 per cent. This figure was up 2.4 percentage points from the previous year.
Among small-scale businesses with five to 29 employees, however, the percentage slumped 11 percentage points to 67.9 per cent.
A ministry official said, “We want to make progress in creating an environment in which workers in small businesses can take childcare leave more easily.”
