Koizumi is first of Japan’s top ministers to take paternity leave
TOKYO Japan’s environment minister has announced that he will take paternity leave when his first child is born this month, the first time a cabinet minister in the country has publicly committed to such a move.
Shinjirō Koizumi, a mediasavvy 38yearold, married to a former television anchorwoman, told a ministry meeting it had been a difficult decision to balance his duties as minister and his desire to be with his newborn. “I want to take a total of two weeks off flexibly, making exceptions for important public duties,” he said, adding that he hoped his decision would help to change perceptions and encourage other fathers to follow suit.
He said he would not take the weeks off consecutively and expected to work remotely or have shortened days during the leave period, which would be spread over three months from his child’s birth. The government’s top spokesman backed the move, saying it was “important to create a conducive workplace atmosphere and social acceptance and support for men to ask for and take parental leave”.
The chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, told reporters that he hoped Koizumi’s decision would have a positive impact on attitudes towards male parenting. With Japan facing an ageing population and a dwindling birthrate, the government recently began promoting paternity leave. In December it adopted a policy allowing public servants to take more than a month of paternity leave.
The son of a former prime minister, Koizumi was named environment minister in a cabinet reshuffle in September, becoming the third youngest Japanese minister since the end of the second world war. He has been closely scrutinised as a potential rising star in the government, his comments and behaviour subjected to intense media dissection. By law Japan offers comparatively generous parental leave to employed workers. Both parents can take up to a year off, with additional renewable sixmonth periods if a nursery place is unavailable.
(The Guardian)