According to Fortune, Tokyo’s Metropolitan government started allowing its 4-day work week program in April this year, making it one of Japan’s largest employers to adopt the policy. The city also introduced “childcare partial leave” letting some employees work two fewer hours daily. This comes as Japan’s birth rate hit record lows with just 339,280 births recorded from January to June – about 10,000 fewer than the same period last year. Tokyo’s fertility rate stands at a shocking 0.99, far below the 2.1 needed for population stability. Governor Yuriko Koike announced these measures specifically to help women avoid sacrificing careers for childbirth and child-rearing. Japan’s median age has now reached 49.9, making it the world’s oldest population.
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Desperate Times, Familiar Measures
Here’s the thing: Japan has been throwing solutions at this problem since the 1990s. They’ve tried generous parental leave, daycare subsidies, cash payments to parents – even launching a government dating app earlier this year. And yet the birth rate has consistently fallen for eight straight years. So why would a four-day work week work where everything else failed?
Look, the theory makes sense on paper. Japan’s work culture is brutal, and the household labor gap is one of the worst among developed nations. Women do five times more unpaid work than men – no wonder more than half of women who wanted more kids said housework concerns stopped them. If men get that extra day off, maybe they’ll actually pitch in at home.
But Will It Actually Work?
There’s some evidence that shorter weeks can help with household equity. During a six-country trial, men reported spending 22% more time on childcare and 23% more on housework. And productivity and well-being generally improve with four-day weeks. But we’re talking about fundamental cultural change here. Japan didn’t become a work-obsessed society overnight, and it won’t transform because government employees get Fridays off.
Plus, let’s be real – this is just the Tokyo government for now. The private sector? That’s a whole different battle. Japanese corporate culture values face time and long hours in ways that make American workaholics look relaxed. Changing that requires more than a policy announcement.
The Bigger Picture
Japan isn’t alone in this struggle. By 2100, 97% of countries are predicted to fall below replacement fertility rates. South Korea’s situation is even worse – they actually sold more dog strollers than baby strollers last year. Elon Musk might be having enough kids for everyone, but most people aren’t following his lead.
So is the four-day work week the magic bullet? Probably not. But it’s at least addressing one of the root causes rather than just throwing money at the symptoms. The real test will be whether this spreads beyond government offices and actually changes how Japanese families live and work. Because if decades of failed policies have taught us anything, it’s that solving a demographic crisis requires more than just giving people an extra day off.
