1. Centre For Work + Life Seminar Series 2012 15 May 2012 Trends in Fertility, ‘Work-life Balance’ Policy and Practice in Japan Hideki Nakazato Konan University Kobe, Japan

2. Japan Basics

3. Location

4. Latitude, Longitude and Size

5. Population: 128,057,000(2010)

6. Tokyo Yokohama Metroplitan Area 35 million Tokyo Yokohama Metroplitan Area 35 million Kyoto-Osaka- Kobe Metroplitan Area Kyoto-Osaka- Kobe Metroplitan Area

7. Shinjuku, Tokyo

9. Hanshin-kan (Between Osaka and Kobe) OsakaOsakaKobeKobe

10. Fertility Trends in Japan and Australia

11. Total Fertility Rate Australia: Lowest at 1.73 in 2001 Japan: Decrease until 2005 (1.26) and recovery afterward

12. 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.

13. 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.)

14. 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

15. Age Specific Fertility Rate

18. Japan: Decline among peak age range from 2000 to 2005. Increase in late 20s of age and older 2005-2010

19. Trends of Age Specific Fertility Rate (Japan) Increase for 30-34 resumed round 2005 Decline for 25-29 stopped around 2005

20. What happened around 2005?

21. 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.)

22. 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

23. 1995 Leave benefits 25% of the wage of a worker before he/she starts the leave

24. 2001 Benefit rate raised from 25% to 40%

25. Still declining fertility

26. 2003 Act 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).

27. Recommended topics in the action plan Establishment of paternity leave (“leave for childbearing of spouse”)

28. Recommended topics in the action plan Encouraging fathers to take parental leave

29. Recommended topics in the action plan Work environment to enable workers to harmonise work and life.

30. Recommended topics in the action plan Target setting (eg. Leave take- up rates by gender)

31. “Kurumin “ Certification Certificate that the plan and achievement of a company meets certain conditions.

32. Conditions for “Kurumin “ Certification At least one male employee who took parental leave. Take-up rate for female employee >= 70%

33. Number of certified Companies 920 companies (Jun 2010) --> 1121 companies (July 2011)

34. Example of usage of the certification mark CSR report on a company website

35. Increasing consciousness about work/life issues and support for working parents Workshop at workplace on harmonising work and life

36. Other policy changes

37. 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)

38. 2007 Leave benefit rates increase -> 50 % of wage before leave All payed during the leave

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

40. Mothers’ labour force participation by year of the birth of a first child (The National Fertility Survey) (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))

41. Other changes Increased use of shortened working hours

42. Changes in Community Rapid increase in capacity of childcare centres from 2004 (Kamata 2011)

43. Summary Improved 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.

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

45. 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.