Tokyo govet launches 4-day work-week to aid families amid low fertility

The Tokyo government intends to implement a four-day workweek for its staff in an effort to encourage young families and raise the country's historically low fertility rates.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike announced that the metropolitan government's employees will be able to take three days off every week beginning in April.

At a time when Japan's fertility rate is at an all-time low, the new policy aims to encourage couples to become parents.

According to the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare, despite the government's intensified efforts to encourage young people to start families, it fell to just 1.2 children predicted per woman throughout her lifetime last year. For a population to be steady, that figure must be at least 2.1.

Koike also announced a new policy that would allow parents of primary school-aged children to exchange a portion of their pay for the opportunity to leave work early.