Tokyo city government trials 4-day work week to boost birth rate

Tokyo’s city government will give staff a four-day week in an effort to boost Japan’s declining birth rate.

The country’s population is expected to fall for the 16th year in a row, and municipal authorities hope that a four-on, three-off work schedule could make childcare easier and less expensive and, in turn, the thought of parenting less daunting.

Several other Japanese jurisdictions have introduced similar measures, as have South Africa, Brazil, and Germany. A four-day week nonprofit that worked with the Tokyo government told the Financial Times that staff retention and productivity consistently improved, while sick days fell, after its introduction.