Tokyo's Four-Day Workweek: A Novel Approach to a Population Crisis

2025-02-27
Tokyo's Four-Day Workweek: A Novel Approach to a Population Crisis

Facing a severe population crisis, Tokyo's metropolitan government will implement a four-day workweek starting April 2025, alongside a new 'childcare partial leave' policy. This initiative aims to improve work-life balance for parents, thereby potentially boosting birth rates. While hailed as innovative, the effectiveness of this approach in tackling Japan's demographic challenges remains uncertain, highlighting the complexity of addressing declining fertility rates.