Record 40% of men with infants in Japan took paternity leave in 2024

A record 40.5 percent of fathers with infants in Japan took paternity leave in 2024, climbing for the 12th straight year and jumping by 10.4 percentage points from the previous year, a government survey showed Wednesday.The surge in the one-year survey period through Oct. 1, 2024, is partly due to Japan's paternity leave program introduced in 2022 which endeavors to make it easier for fathers to take time off than it is under the preexisting paternity leave.If it continues at this pace, the government may reach its goal of having 50 percent of fathers with infants taking paternity leave by …READ FULL ARTICLE