Centre For Work + Life Seminar Series 201215 May 2012

Trends in Fertility, ‘Work-life Balance’ Policy and Practice in Japan

Hideki Nakazato Konan UniversityKobe, Japan

Japan Basics

Location

Latitude, Longitudeand Size

Population: 128,057,000(2010)

Tokyo Tokyo YokohamaYokohamaMetroplitMetroplitan Areaan Area

35 35 millionmillion

Tokyo Tokyo YokohamaYokohamaMetroplitMetroplitan Areaan Area

35 35 millionmillion

Kyoto-Kyoto-Osaka-KobeOsaka-KobeMetroplitaMetroplitan Arean Area

Kyoto-Kyoto-Osaka-KobeOsaka-KobeMetroplitaMetroplitan Arean Area

Shinjuku, Tokyo

Shinjuku, Tokyo

Hanshin-kan (Between Osaka and Kobe)

OsakaOsakaOsakaOsaka KobeKobeKobeKobe

Fertility Trends in Japan and Australia

Total Fertility Rate

Australia: Lowest at 1.73 in 2001

Japan: Decrease until 2005 (1.26) and recovery afterward

Analysing the effect of “work-life balance” policy (including

parental leave)

Micro level analysis

Multiple regression of individual records from survey data)

Useful to explain difference between people or organizations

v.s.

Analysing the effect of “work-life balance” policy (including

parental leave)

Macro level analysis(Comparing aggregate numbers or rates over time)•Useful to examine background of historical change at national level

•Useful to examine (or at least speculate) the effect of national policy

(Micro-level analyses do not show the background of changes in the nation (the area the national policy affects) as a whole.)

Age Specific Fertility Rate

Larger variance, later peak in Australia

Japan: Decline among peak age range from 2000 to 2005.

Increase in late 20s of age and older 2005-2010

Age Specific Fertility Rate

Age Specific Fertility Rate

Age Specific Fertility Rate

Age Specific Fertility Rate

Japan: Decline among peak age range from 2000 to 2005.

Increase in late 20s of age and older 2005-2010

Trends of Age Specific Fertility Rate

(Japan)

Increase for 30-34 resumed round 2005 Decline for 25-29 stopped around 2005

What happened around 2005?

Implementation and revision of Parental Leave scheme and

related policy change

Background public concern•gender inequality

•declining fertility

•(mental) health problem (from long woking hours etc.)

1992 (a grace period until 1995 for

companies with 30 or less regular employees)

Statutory parental leave• Length of the leave was 1 year

• No leave benefit

1995

Leave benefits

25% of the wage of a worker before he/she starts the leave

2001

Benefit rate raised from 25% to 40%

Still declining fertility

2003Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children

National and local government as well as companies are obliged to establish action plans (2005-2009 and 2010-2014) .

Recommended topics in the action plan

Establishment of paternity leave ( “leave for childbearing of spouse ”)

Recommended topics in the action plan

Encouraging fathers to take parental leave

Recommended topics in the action plan

Work environment to enable workers to harmonise work and life.

Recommended topics in the action plan

Target setting (eg. Leave take-up rates by gender)

“Kurumin “ Certification

Certificate that the plan and achievement of a company meets certain conditions.

Conditions for “Kurumin “

Certification

•At least one male employee who took parental leave.

•Take-up rate for female employee >= 70%

Number of certified Companies

920 companies (Jun 2010)

--> 1121 companies (July 2011)

Example of usage of the certification mark

CSR report on a company website

Increasing consciousness about work/life issues and support for working parents

Workshop at workplace on harmonising work and life

Other policy changes

2007

Making the leave to be an individual entitlement

-> Fathers can take leave even when their partner is on leave or not in labour force.

Extension of leave period until the child become 1 year and 2 months of age if both parents take leave

(maximum 1 year for each parent)

2007

Leave benefit rates increase

-> 50 % of wage before leave

All payed during the leave

Change in parental leave take-up rate(Basic Survey of Gender Equality in Employment Management)

Mothers’ labour force participation by year of the

birth of a first child(The National Fertility Survey)

Still many women quit job when pregnant, but we need to note the meaning of steady increase of leave take-up rate.

Female workers who want to continue career can be getting less hesitant to have children (compatible with micro-analysis result such as Yamaguchi (2009))

Other changes

Increased use of shortened working hours

Changes in Community

Rapid increase in capacity of childcare centres from 2004 (Kamata 2011)

SummaryImproved support system encourages full-time female worker to give birth.

Still high proportion of women who quit job.

For fathers -- still to improve, but increasing concern about father’s involvement in childrearing.

It is important to recognise what we have established at this point as well as examining what needs to be done.

References

Kamata, Kenji.2011. "Diversification of measures to support raising next-generation children: Evaluation of the first-term action plan and the analysis of patterns of policy diffusion" (in Japanese) Journal of population problems 67:39-61.

Yamaguchi, Kazuo. 2009. Waku raifu baransu: jissho to seisaku teigen [Work- life balance: evidence and policy recommendations] (in Japanese). Tokyo: Nihon keizai shimbun shuppan-sha.