Japan offers incentives to small and medium-sized enterprises, encourages men to take care of children

The Tsukuba City Government in Japan's Ibaraki Prefecture recently announced that it will provide incentives to small and medium-sized businesses in the city whose male employees take paternity leave.

Japan has a policy to encourage men to take care of their children. (Source: Nikkei Asia)

This is the first time Ibaraki Prefecture has launched an initiative to encourage men to take care of their children. The prefecture will start accepting applications from November 15 and will close on March 15, 2024.

The conditions for participating in the program are that small and medium-sized enterprises have offices in the city and have male employees who are Tsukuba City residents who have taken at least 14 days of parental leave (starting from October 1, 2023) and have returned to work at least 1 month after the leave.

The incentive will be paid according to the number of days off each male employee takes: 100,000 yen (about $660) for 14 to 27 days, 200,000 yen for 28 to 55 days, 300,000 yen for 56 to 83 days, and 400,000 yen for 84 days or more. If a replacement is found, the company will receive an additional 50% of the incentive, up to a maximum of 100,000 yen.

“The smaller the company, the less importance it places on men taking time off to care for their children. We hope that by providing this support, companies will understand and allow men to take time off to care for their children without worrying about causing trouble for others,” the mayor of Tsukuba stressed.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/nhat-ban-uu-dai-cho-doanh-nghiep-nho-va-vua-khuyen-khich-nam-gioi-cham-soc-con-249647.html