Nearly 14% of men took paternity leave in Japan in 2021

The percentage of men taking child care leave in Japan rose to 13.97% last year, up 1.32 points from the year before and marking the highest ratio ever, according to the latest labor ministry survey. But it is still far short of the government’s goal of raising the ratio to 30% by 2025.

According to results of the annual survey on equal employment opportunities released on July 29, 85.1% of women who gave birth took child care leave, marking a 3.5 percentage point increase from the year before.