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August 13, 2026
 

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PATERNITY LEAVE

Father of two and "dad influencer" Diego Di Franco takes his daughter Eva to a birthday party, in Trezzano sul Naviglio, Italy, on April 9.
WORLD / Society / FOCUS
Apr 27, 2026
Fathers go online to redefine their role after Italy votes down equal parental leave
On social media, Italian fathers are increasingly ?posting about daily childcare, turning paternal care into a visible, mainstream ?narrative.
More than 85% of national public servants took paternity leave in fiscal 2024.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 28, 2025
Record 85.9% of eligible Japan civil servants took paternity leave
Among them, the proportion of those who took child care leave for more than one month stood at 51.4%, exceeding 50% for the first time ever.
Major League Baseball's paternity list system drew attention when Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani used it for his wife's childbirth in April this year.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 15, 2025
Japanese pro baseball to introduce paternity leave
¡°Such a system is commonplace in society, and we are finally getting it,¡± said Tadahito Mori, head of the Japan Professional Baseball Players Association¡¯s secretariat.
Shohei Ohtani and Mamiko Tanaka announced the birth of their first child on April 19.
BASEBALL
Apr 28, 2025
Shohei Ohtani¡¯s example could change Â鶹´«Ã½ views on paternity leave
The Dodgers star went on MLB¡¯s paternity list for the birth of his daughter. MLB is the only major North American sports league that guarantees paternity leave to its players.
Passengers exit trains at Hamamatsucho Station in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 1, 2024
Paternity leave uptake in Japan hits record 30%
The new record represents a 13 percentage point increase from the previous year.
Sweden is known for its generous parental leave system, with parents allowed to share 480 days of leave per child and 90% of fathers taking such time off.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 12, 2024
Swedish-style paternity leave could unleash Â鶹´«Ã½ potential
In Sweden, most new fathers take paternity leave, with direct benefits for the economy and families ¡ª an approach that holds important lessons for Japan.
Aeon is aiming to encourage male workers to take child care leave. While almost all of its female employees currently take child care leave when they have a child, the rate for male employees is only 15%.
BUSINESS
Feb 2, 2024
Aeon employees to receive 100% of income during child care leave
The retailer aims to gradually roll out the program from March to some 150 group companies.
The government aims to have 50% of new fathers take child care leave by 2025 and 85% by 2030.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 13, 2023
Japan panel proposes child care plan covering 100% of income
The 100% allowance would only be offered for up to 28 days, with the amount for any further leave being around 80% of income.
Paternity leave has not taken root in Japan due to concerns over decreases in income and disruptions to the work side of life.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 24, 2023
Japan local governments working to encourage paternity leave
From Saga to Yamanashi, local officials are trying a variety of policies to give their male employees a chance to better participate in family life.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jun 22, 2023
Japan hopes to inspire more men to take paternity leave
In fiscal 2021, only 13.97% of eligible men took child care leave. The government has raised the target for fiscal 2025 from 30% to 50% and aims to push up the share to 85% by 2030.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 2023
Japan announces outline of ¡®unprecedented¡¯ child care policy
The measures aimed at reversing Â鶹´«Ã½ declining birthrate include beefing up child care allowances and expanding scholarships for college education.
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2023
Kishida aims for half of new fathers to take child care leave in 2025
The prime minister also said he will aim to raise the rate to 85% by fiscal 2030, adding that the bold goals are necessary to reverse the declining birthrate.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Oct 31, 2022
Fukushima firms work to address low rate of fathers taking paternity leave
The reluctance of fathers to use paternity leave is said to be attributable to the absence of working environments where it is seen favorably and the difficulty of securing staff for cover.
BUSINESS
Oct 25, 2022
Insurers offer to protect Japan firms from losses due to parental leave
Companies that meet certain conditions set by the insurers are eligible for compensation related to hiring costs incurred should an employee take childcare leave.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jul 1, 2020
Japan to mull law revision to ensure child support payments
A private panel advising the government is also calling for creating an environment where all new fathers can take paternity leave.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Mar 24, 2020
Japan pushes male public servants to take longer paternity leave
The government will encourage its eligible male personnel to use child-rearing leave for at least a month in principle, starting in fiscal 2020.
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Mar 21, 2020
Family dynamic shifts as schools remain closed nationwide
Japanese dads are coming under scrutiny ¡ª again. Ever since Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi officially made ikumen (men who take an active role in child-rearing) fashionable by publicly taking two weeks off for paternity leave, fathers who let their spouses shoulder all the burden of child care...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / Commentary
Feb 13, 2020
Can Japan kick-start paternity leave among workaholic dads?
In January, Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi received worldwide attention after surprising the public with his plan to take parental leave shortly before the birth of his first child.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 1, 2020
Shinjiro Koizumi¡¯s paternity leave raises a few eyebrows
Shortly before Shinjiro Koizumi¡¯s wife, Christel Takigawa, gave birth to a baby boy last month, the environment minister told reporters during a regular news conference he would be taking time off for paternity leave. It was a revelation that surprised some because after the pair had revealed she was...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jan 23, 2020
Even on paternity leave, 32% of Japanese moms say dads don¡¯t help much with housework
The government has been pushing for fathers to take paternity leave as Japan faces a demographic crisis, yet a new wrinkle has emerged: Almost one-third of mothers report that their partners do little to help out around the house while they¡¯re off work.
Gut bacteria may be behind many of Â鶹´«Ã½ colorectal cancer cases
A Japanese research team found that a toxin produced by certain E. coli strains, colibactin, caused genetic mutations in nearly half of colorectal cancer cases studied
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
She is Russia¡¯s richest woman. Her business empire is going up in flames.
Tatyana Kim, the head and co-founder of Wildberries, speaks about Ukrainian drone attacks on the company's warehouses in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, at an unidentified location, in this still image from a handout video released on July 31.
Severe tropical storm Chan-hom makes landfall near Tokyo
Severe Tropical Storm Chan-hom made landfall around Ibaraki Prefecture, near Tokyo, on Tuesday night.
What Â鶹´«Ã½ language rules for permanent residency should look like
Potential health care workers hoping to find work in Japan take Japanese language instruction in Jakarta. Not all applicants for permanent residency should be expected to reach this level of proficiency.
Where do foreign residents in Japan want to die?
The Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery is one of the few cemeteries in Japan that allows burials, albeit with conditions for the deceased, including foreign nationality and permanent residency in Kanagawa Prefecture.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
As Â鶹´«Ã½ concrete jungles sizzle, urban forestry offers an all-natural fix
People and birds find relief from the sun in Tokyo's Nakano Ward earlier this month. While experts agree that urban greening is crucial to mitigating the impact of climate change, trees are becoming even more scarce in Japanese cities.
Â鶹´«Ã½ brewers experiment with a secret ingredient: music
At Smoke Craft, a craft beer brewery in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, music isn't just a background to the brewing process ¡ª it's an ingredient.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

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