Can Japan’s Four-Day Work Week Solve Its Birth Rate Crisis?

While the Tokyo Metropolitan Government plans to introduce a four-day workweek to ease the burden on families, some analysts believe it will have little impact on declining births unless accompanied by fundamental changes to Japanese workplace culture.

“For these policies to meaningfully impact fertility rates and support greater gender equality in Japan, they must be accompanied by workplace cultural changes that normalize and encourage men’s active participation in family life,” Ekaterina Hertog, associate professor at the Oxford Internet Institute and Institute for Ethics in AI, told Newsweek.

“Such a change will not happen on its own and will likely require regulation aimed directly at labor market practices.”

Last week, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike announced that, starting in April, city employees will be allowed to take three days off each week. “We’ll keep reviewing our work styles flexibly so that nobody has to give up their careers due to life events such as childbirth and childcare,” Koike said, citing a need to protect livelihoods and the economy “during these challenging times.”

Koike also introduced an arrangement allowing parents of young children to leave work early in exchange for a reduced salary.

Newsweek reached out to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government by email with a request for comment

Japan, like other East Asian countries, faces strong demographic headwinds, with nearly 30 percent of its population aged 65 or older. The country’s fertility rate—the average number of births per woman—fell to a record-low 1.2 last year, far below the 2.1 replacement rate needed to maintain the population.

The health ministry warned this year Japan has only until around 2030 to reverse the decline. In recent decades, the government has introduced measures such as lump-sum childbirth payments, monthly family subsidies, childcare support, workplace reforms, and parental leave benefits.

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Japan offers the third-most generous parental leave entitlements among OECD nations, with mothers eligible for up to 58 weeks of paid leave and fathers up to 52 weeks. Parents typically receive 67 percent of their salary during the first six months, dropping to 50 percent afterward.

Hertog pointed to a 2019 study that showed just over 3 percent of eligible fathers took advantage of their 12 months of leave, leaving mothers to shoulder most of the childcare and housework, often at the cost of career advancement.

“The core challenge lies in Japan’s gendered division of labor. Men, typically the primary breadwinners, often avoid taking family leave fearing career repercussions,” she said. She emphasized that unless more fathers take leave, “women will continue facing the stark choice between career advancement and having children.”

The idea of a shorter workweek has been tested in several countries, including Iceland, where participating workers reported greater job satisfaction and which is enjoying some of the strongest economic growth in Europe.

A 2022 University of Cambridge study—the largest four-day workweek trial globally—found that 71 percent of employees reported reduced burnout, and 30 percent felt less stressed. The study also reported a 57 percent drop in staff turnover during the six-month trial.