By Maya Kaneko, KYODO NEWS - Feb 21, 2020 - 12:06 | Lifestyle, All, Japan

As one of the country's most high-profile politicians breaks new ground for a Cabinet minister by taking paternity leave, some lawmakers and businesses are aiming to change the way corporate Japan views time off for new dads.

Although Japan leads the world in paid-leave provisions for fathers, according to U.N. Children's Fund data, only 6.16 percent took childcare leave in fiscal 2018. Among those who did, 36.3 percent were absent for fewer than five days and 35.1 percent between five and 13 days, according to government data.

Campaigners blame reluctance to take time off on Japan's male-centered corporate culture, which favors those who put work before family. But promoting paternity leave, they say, could be astep to curb the falling birthrate and sustain the economy by encouraging more women to work.

To drastically change the situation, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party launched a project team last November with the aim of obliging managers to make it easy for subordinates to take paternity leave.

Some companies such as homebuilder Sekisui House Ltd. and Japan's largest bank MUFG Bank have gone public with plans to strongly urge male employees to take at least one month of childcare leave.

(Yoshiaki Wada (C) and his family)

[Photo courtesy of Wada]

From April, the government will also encourage male civil service workers to similarly take childcare leave for a minimum of one month, in line with its goal of raising the overall rate of men taking such leave to 13 percent in the