Contradicting the Japanese government’s encouragement for new fathers to take paternity leave, a 34-year-old member of parliament has been chastised by both colleagues and members of the public on his decision to take paternity leave next month.
Kensuke Miyazaki from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party became the first politician in Japan to ask for the time off, and plans to take a month of leave.
He gave a statement to the BBC, where he acknowledged that his decision to do so would “cause a bit of a stir.”
He added that only 2.3% of Japanese men take their paternity leave entitlements, and the government wants this figure to go up to 13%, in hopes of pushing its slumping birth rate with generous benefits.
Despite these hopes, Miyazaki’s decision has attracted criticism from both opposition party members and members of the public, who tweeted to say that his time off will affect his ability to represent supporters’ voices in the government.
Paternity leave is for workers, and not politicians, tweeted a member of the public.
Some tweets are in support of Miyazaki, however. A user, @Sora0209sora said the roles of fathers and mothers are changing to share parental duties between both, and that fathers should be allowed to take leave just as mothers are.
This could help new mothers feel less pressured, and reduce the occurrence of post-partum depression, she said.
Japan has suffered low birth rates for years, and saw it fall to a record low in 2014, with just over a million newborns in the year. A low birth rate is expected to exacerbate Japan’s struggles with its ageing population.
In 2014, a quarter of Japan’s population was aged 65 and older, and this proportion could reach 40% in 2060 if birth rates don’t rise.
Japan has one of the world’s most generous paternity leave schemes, too. Both mums and dads get a year off of work, with two-thirds of their salary paid by insurance, not their employers. In 2010, the government padded this with more benefits, such as requiring companies to let workers with children younger than 3 years of age work shorter hours of six hours per day, if they need.
While Japan shares its generous 52-week allowance with neighbouring South Korea, it seems it also shares the social stigma associated with fathers taking their entitlement, however. According to recent reports, only 5% of parents in South Korea taking parental leave were men in 2015.
The South Korean government hopes to raise this figure to 30% by 2030.
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Source: Mashable