Husbands' time spent on housework and childcare affects birth rates for second and subsequent children ~ Kickoff Symposium for the "Thank You, Dad Project"

On June 29, the Cabinet Office held a kickoff symposium at the Central Government Building in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, to commemorate the launch of the "Thank You, Dad Project," which promotes paternity leave immediately after a spouse gives birth. Approximately 200 people attended, including corporate HR and CSR personnel, as well as local government officials responsible for countering declining birthrates and promoting gender equality.

The first half featured Minister of State for Population Policy Haruko Arimura unveiling the project's symbol mark. Speeches were given by Kunie Okamoto, Vice Chairman of Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) and Chairman of its Population Issues Committee, who is also Chairman of Nippon Life Insurance Company; and Masao Uchibori, Governor of Fukushima Prefecture and member of the National Governors' Association's Task Force on Next Generation Support Measures. The latter half featured a panel discussion titled "Promoting Paternity Leave Immediately After a Spouse's Childbirth: Case Studies and Real Perspectives from Dads and Moms."

The Cabinet Office has designated the next five years as a period of concentrated effort on countermeasures against the declining birthrate. On March 20 this year, the Cabinet approved the Outline of Measures for a Society with a Declining Birthrate. Within this framework, it set a numerical target of achieving an 80% rate (*) of men taking leave immediately after their spouse's childbirth by 2020 and launched the "Thank You, Dad Project."

*Percentage of men who took at least half a day or one full day of leave (annual paid leave, special leave for spouse's childbirth, childcare leave, etc.) within two months of their spouse's childbirth.
 

The project aims to help fathers realize their role as parents by spending time with their family during the birth of a new life, deepen bonds with their spouse, encourage participation in housework and childcare, and ultimately promote work-life balance. Data also shows that the longer a husband spends on housework and childcare, the higher the birth rate for second and subsequent children (see figure below), making this initiative crucial as part of countermeasures against the declining birthrate.

Birth rates for second or subsequent children over the past eight years, categorized by husbands' time spent on household chores and childcare during holidays

At the symposium, Minister Arimura took the stage first. She explained the critical situation where Japan's total fertility rate dropped to 1.42 in 2014, the first decline in nine years, emphasizing that "extraordinary efforts are necessary." "Japanese men's time spent on housework and childcare is extremely short compared to Western countries. Furthermore, until now, there weren't even statistics on men taking leave immediately after childbirth. Setting the target of an 80% leave uptake rate immediately after childbirth is itself a new initiative, and we want to achieve this somehow," he stated.

He then unveiled the project's flagship slogan, "Dad Takes Paternity Leave, Family Says Thanks," along with its symbol mark. "We hope this symbol mark will help build momentum across society to support child-rearing. We ask for your support to make this a societal standard," he said, calling for active participation.

Keidanren Vice Chairman Okamoto highlighted that Keidanren is aligned in proposing solutions to population decline and has established a Population Issues Committee. He also shared achievements from Nippon Life Insurance, where he serves as Chairman. The company declared a goal of 100% male employee childcare leave uptake for fiscal year 2013 and achieved this target both that year and the following year. He highlighted key implementation points, such as embedding numerical targets into management plans, and emphasized that concerns about negative impacts on performance due to leave taking were unfounded. He declared the company would again aim for 100% this year.

Governor Uchibori of Fukushima Prefecture addressed the gathering from the perspective of the National Governors' Association, introducing declarations and proposals regarding the declining birthrate issue and various measures being implemented according to regional circumstances.

The subsequent panel discussion featured moderator Yuki Atsumi, Head of Diversity & Work-Life Balance Research at Toray Management Research Institute. Panelists included Tetsuya Ando of Fathering Japan (engaged in father support initiatives), Noriko Nakamura (Editor-in-Chief of "Tamago Club" and "Hiyoko Club"), and Daichi Watanabe, CEO of Ainaroa and Lecturer at Sapporo City University's Midwifery Program. Mami Hagiwara from Showa Denko's General Affairs and Human Resources Department and Masaaki Kurihara, Deputy Director of the Children and Family Bureau at Mie Prefecture's Health and Welfare Department, also presented initiatives within their respective organizations.

Mr. Atsumi argued that promoting "Thank You Dads" requires establishing the practice of taking childcare-related leave as a customary part of corporate culture and Japanese society. He stated that clearly communicating this as the majority practice within organizations through documents, intranets, and internal communications is effective. Mr. Ando added, "Companies with strong diversity practices benefit in new graduate recruitment and see improved performance."

"Increasing 'Thank You Dads' is a family policy and also connects to preventive measures against issues like child abuse. Men's participation in childcare is no longer an appeal based on sentiment; it's a project grounded in rationality," Ando stated. He added that it also reduces societal costs, such as preventing postpartum divorces. Nakamura also emphasized that it prevents the so-called "postpartum crisis" where marital relations deteriorate after childbirth. Watanabe, who runs postpartum support services, introduced that "experiencing and empathizing together with the postpartum chaos" is a need on the women's side. Atsumi also stated, "Child-rearing is a medium- to long-term project. Cultivating basic trust between parent and child during early childhood can also help mitigate problems during adolescence."

Finally, Atsumi concluded: "Managers who cannot even take maternity leave will inevitably fail in management. Tailoring management to each employee's individual circumstances is an essential skill in this era. Furthermore, husbands who value their families are unlikely to be involved in abuse or domestic violence. Spending time together enables parents to notice changes in their children, leading to early detection of illness. We want to expand the resonance of the 'Thank You Dad' project as an initiative that spreads the circle of gratitude and protects lives."