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Tokyo is adopting a 4-day workweek in a bid to help boost the nation's record-low fertility rates.
In Japan, the most recent data shows the corresponding figure for the average number of babies a woman is expected to have during her reproductive life came in at 1.20 in 2023.
Starting in April, the Tokyo Metropolitan government, one of the country’s largest employers, will allow its employees to work four days a week. Additionally, a new "childcare partial leave" policy will let some employees reduce their workday by two hours. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike stated that the aim is to help parents balance childcare and work.
"We will continue to review work styles flexibly to ensure that women do not have to sacrifice their careers due to life events such as childbirth or child-rearing," Koike said in a speech during the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly's regular session, the Japan Times reported.
Currently, Tokyo Metropolitan government employees use a flextime system to adjust their working hours, allowing them to take one extra day off every four weeks. This system will be revised to offer one extra day off per week, enabling employees to work four days a week and have the remaining three days off.
Koike also said they will continue to advance initiatives to address shortages in nursery school vacancies and support egg freezing.
Japan's births fell to record low in 2024
The number of babies born in Japan fell to a record low of 720,988 in 2024 for a ninth consecutive year of decline, said the health ministry, underscoring the rapid ageing and dwindling of the population.
Births were down 5% on the year, despite a range of steps unveiled in 2023 by former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to boost childbearing, while a record number of 1.62 million deaths meant that more than two people died for every new baby born.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba noted the rise in the number of marriages.
"We need to be aware the trend of falling births has not been arrested. But the number of marriages posted an increase. Given close ties between the number of marriages and the number of births, we should focus on this aspect as well," he said.
AnewZ has learned that India has once again blocked Azerbaijan’s application for full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, while Pakistan’s recent decision to consider diplomatic relations with Armenia has been coordinated with Baku as part of Azerbaijan’s peace agenda.
A day of mourning has been declared in Portugal to pay respect to victims who lost their lives in the Lisbon Funicular crash which happened on Wednesday evening.
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India's retail inflation (INCPIY=ECI) rose to 2.07% in August as food prices edged up, although it remained within the central bank's tolerance range for the tenth consecutive month.
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) said Wednesday that it now believes “some data has been affected” after a cyberattack forced the company to shut down operations last Tuesday. Staff have been instructed to work from home since the incident.
Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison has overtaken Tesla Chief Elon Musk as the world’s richest person after a surge in the company’s stock lifted his net worth to $393 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
China has launched its first review of its foreign trade law since 2004, signalling a potential shift in how the country manages international commerce amid rising global trade tensions.
The U.S. will lower tariffs on Japanese cars and auto parts by 16 September under a trade deal formalised by President Donald Trump, Japan’s chief negotiator said Tuesday.
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