Tokyo will introduce the four-day workweek from April 2025 in a novel experiment to try and arrest the falling fertility rates, offering a better work-life balance. It is one bold reform from more far-reaching changes needed to address Japan’s demographic challenges and greater inclusion into the workforce, particularly working parents.
To put that into perspective, Tokyo’s fertility rate – 0.99 – is way below the 2.1-per-woman replacement rate necessary in establishing a stable population. Looting below the national record low that marks Japan’s deeper demographic situation has drawn increased alarm. Governor Yuriko Koike said Thursday none are now forced to choose between lives and careers by events at stages called childbirth and child care, and nobody is.
With this four-day work pattern, the government wants to build an atmosphere that will make couples confident about starting families. The policy also tries to help working mothers, usually struggling with a double burden at home and with professional responsibilities.
The program gives three days off to the governmental workers every week without raising their workload to more than 155 hours per month. In addition to this schedule, the following are being implemented:
ChildCare Partial Leave: Employees can decrease their work hours up to two hours a day to take care of child needs.
Improved Flextime System: More flexibility is given to workers in scheduling their hours to easily accommodate the change to the four-day week.
These are measures to alleviate families of their burdens and to increase gender equality in the workplace.
The Governor, Yuriko Koike, has been making noises about change being in the air, and for good reason: work styles will have to adjust to accommodate modern family needs. “We will review work styles with flexibility, ensuring that nobody has to give up a job owing to life events such as child births and child care,” she recently outlined in an important policy address.
Tokyo’s move is part of the wider, emerging trend of short working weeks that has been in development around the world. Countries like Belgium, Iceland, and the UAE report amazing results from similar policies, both with improved wellbeing of the employees, mental health, and productivity. For example, trials in Iceland found a general satisfaction among the workforce, with 90% feeling their work-life balance and stress levels had noticeably improved.
Japan is no stranger to such experiments. Miyagi Prefecture intends to extend the option for a four-day workweek to all employees by 2026, targeting employees with caregiving responsibilities in the initial stages.
Such policies are all the more urgent given Japan’s demographic trend. The population, that was 128 million in 2008, is forecast to shrink to 86.7 million by 2060. Other factors such as the demanding work culture and large differences in gender roles further worsen this challenge. Japanese women, for instance, do five times as much unpaid housework as Japanese men, says the IMF-a major obstacle to combining jobs and children.
Other predicted gains from the reform include less stress, improved mental and physical health, and more family time. But weaning yourself off Japan’s deep-seated corporate culture-where long hours are a badge of honor-isn’t going to be easy. Experts say success will depend on a deeper cultural shift. Peter Miscovich, a global work expert, observed that shorter workweeks lead to “less stress, better rest, and greater focus” – benefits that could spur more widespread adoption in Japan. If it works, Tokyo’s four-day workweek could prove a model for other regions in Japan and beyond. It could be a driver of cultural change toward more gender equality and better work-life balance, pushing family-friendly policies.
