A survey by Japan's biggest business organization shows that nearly half of eligible male workers took child care leave last year. That's up 18 percentage points from the year before.
.The Japan Business Federation, also known as Keidanren, conducted the poll from April to early May. Two hundred and seventy-eight firms responded.
The average period of leave was 44 days. Nearly 60 percent of respondents stayed at home for a month or longer.
A legal revision that came into force in October 2022 gives male workers up to four weeks of paternity leave.
Before then, relatively few men took time off after the birth of their children.
Last year's trend for relatively long leave periods was strongest at large firms.
But the numbers tend to be lower at smaller firms with no more than 300 employees.
Only about one in three men who took leave at those companies stayed at home for a month or longer. Forty-six percent took fewer than five days off.
◆eligible 資格のある
◆conduct 実施する
◆revision 改正
◆paternity leave 男性育児休業