TOKYO - According to the health ministry's fiscal 2025 Basic Survey of Gender Equality in Employment Management, the percentage of male employees at private companies taking parental leave reached a record 50.9 percent. The figure rose 10.4 percentage points from the previous year, a second straight year of double-digit growth, meeting the government's target of 50 percent in fiscal 2025.
Among workplaces with male employees whose spouses had given birth, the proportion where men took parental leave also rose sharply to 57.1 percent, up 16.1 percentage points from the previous year. The increase likely reflects how men taking such leave is becoming more commonplace at a growing number of workplaces. The rate among fixed-term contract workers, or nonregular employees, topped 40 percent, showing that the practice is spreading across different forms of employment.
A major factor behind the increase is the growing use of the "postpartum paternity leave" program introduced in 2022. Greater flexibility, including allowing leave to be taken in separate or short periods, has helped broaden its use even in industries where it had been difficult for employees to be away from their worksites for extended periods.
The rise was helped by the expansion in April 2025 of a requirement for companies with 301 or more employees to disclose their male parental leave take-up rates. Firms are also now required to confirm the intentions of workers expecting a child regarding such leave, helping to raise awareness. Moreover, enhanced parental leave benefits have lowered the psychological barrier posed by concerns over reduced income.
Awareness of parental leave among men has spread, while the government's support framework has become more robust. The next challenge will be to promote its uptake among small- and medium-sized companies, where participation rates tend to be lower than at large firms. With staffing constraints often more severe, greater efforts will be needed to publicize government subsidies for smaller businesses that encourage parental leave, as well as incentive programs offered by local authorities.
As dual-income households become more common among younger generations, companies will increasingly need to plan their staffing on the assumption that male employees will take parental leave, rather than treating such leave as an exceptional arrangement.
The job market remains favorable for students seeking employment. In a separate survey of young people released by the health ministry at the same time, the male parental leave take-up rate was the most frequently cited information men wanted to know about support programs when looking for a job or considering a career change, at 35.4 percent in a multiple-response question.
Companies that make it easier to raise children are likely to be seen as less prone to exploitative workplace practices and as offering a better working environment. For small- and medium-sized firms that struggle to secure personnel, making parental leave easier for men to take could also become an advantage in recruitment.
I expect the male parental leave take-up rate to continue rising, but the focus is now shifting from expanding participation to improving the quality of leave taken. By duration, the largest share, 30.3 percent, took leave for one month to less than three months, indicating a growing trend toward taking a substantial period of time off. Although a change in the calculation method makes simple comparisons with past figures impossible, the data suggest that leave periods are becoming longer.
At the same time, nearly half still take less than one month of leave. Reasons for keeping it short include difficulties in securing replacement staff and concerns that taking an extended period off could put employees at a disadvantage in performance evaluations. Companies therefore need to ensure adequate staffing and put appropriate evaluation systems in place.
When replacement staff cannot be secured, companies need systems to recognize employees who take on the additional workload, as well as some form of financial compensation. Such measures would also help reduce perceptions of unfairness within the workplace.
Naoko Kuga is a senior researcher at NLI Research Institute. She joined the institute in 2010 and has held her current post since 2021. Her specialties are life design and consumer behavior.
