According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare last year, 12.65% of men working in companies took childcare leave.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare says, "We would like to work toward creating a workplace where it is easy to take childcare leave," which is an increase of more than 5 points from the previous year.
This survey was conducted by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare last October, targeting more than 6,200 business establishments nationwide, and about 57% of respondents responded.
According to this, the percentage of women who took childcare leave was 81.6%, down 1.4 points from the previous year's survey.
The rate of male employees taking childcare leave was 12.65%, an increase of 5.17 points from the previous year's survey, the highest ever.
Approximately 28% of men who took childcare leave have a period of less than 5 days.
The government has set a goal of increasing the rate of male employees taking childcare leave to 30% by 2025.
By amending the law to make it easier for men to take childcare leave, it is expected that from October next year, within eight weeks after the child is born, a total of four weeks of leave will be taken in two separate steps.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare says, "We would like to promote efforts to create a workplace where it is easy to take childcare leave."