Paternity leave is an important aspect of
modern parenting, allowing fathers to spend more time with their newborn
children and supporting their partners during this crucial period. In Japan,
the paternity leave system has undergone significant changes in recent years
and both the government and companies now encourage their male employees to
take paternity leave. However, fathers are still reluctant to take it. I
recently took paternity leave after the birth of my second child. Here I will
summarize the main features of the paternity leave system and how to apply.
産後パパ育休
or Papa Childcare Leave at Childbirth
Under the updated Childcare & Caregiver
Leave Law (updated October 2022), in addition to long period childcare leave,
fathers may also take up to 4 weeks leave (出生時育児休業 or 産後パパ育休) in one or two installments within
the 8 weeks after the childbirth. The new system makes it easier for fathers to
take time off work and care for the newborn and the mother while being able to
utilize long term childcare leave at a later date.
- The leave must be requested 2 weeks before the expected delivery date by contacting directly to the HR department of the company/organization. The scheduled dates can be changed later if the actual date of birth is different from the expected.
- Document to submit at time of application includes a page certifying the expected delivery date from 母子手帳 (mother & child handbook).
育児休業 or Childcare Leave
Under the updated system, it is now possible
for both men and women to take childcare leave in two installments. Long-term
parental leave must be applied 1 month prior to the scheduled start date of the
leave. In principle, leave can be taken until the child’s first birthday.
However, leave is extendable in case the child is not accepted in a daycare
center even after the age of one.
Childcare Leave
Benefits
During the four weeks of 産後パパ育休 and up to six months of 育児休業, male employees are entitled to
benefits worth 67% of their salary, and with social and other contributions
waived, they can effectively receive around 80% of their salary. For paternity
leave lasting longer than six months, the benefits are reduced to 50% of the
salary. Note: The maximum amount of childcare leave benefits in the first six
months is 305,721 yen (as of March 2021). Leave benefits are applied by
submitting the previous salary record, page confirming birth from 母子手帳 and bank passbook front page
(required documents may vary depending on individual circumstances).
Example Plan
Since we, both husband & wife, are working, the visual representation of our parental leave plan is presented below as an example. I myself took 4 weeks 産後パパ育休 in one installment and plan to take 3 month 育児休業 later this year.
Useful links:
