Japan's 2025 Parental Leave Reform: 80% Pay and New Rights for Both Parents

Japan's April 2025 reform raises childcare leave pay to 80% for 28 days if both parents take leave, adds telework rights for parents of under-3s, and requires flexible work options. All foreign workers eligible.

Bottom line: From April 2025, Japan increased childcare leave benefits to effectively 80% of salary for the first 28 days — if both parents take leave. New rules also give parents of children under 3 the right to request telework, and employers must offer flexible work options for parents of children up to school age. These rights apply to foreign workers on any visa type.

Information current as of March 2026 based on the revised Child Care and Family Care Leave Act (育児・介護休業法) effective April 2025 and MHLW guidelines. For a full pregnancy-to-childcare overview, see our complete guide to having a baby in Japan.

What changed in April 2025

The April 2025 revision of the 育児・介護休業法 (ikuji kaigo kyuugyou hou — Child Care and Family Care Leave Act) introduced several new rights for working parents. Here's a summary of the key changes:

Change	Details	Effective
Higher leave benefits (出生後休業支援給付)	Effectively 80% of salary for first 28 days if both parents take leave	April 2025
Telework right for parents of under-3s	Parents can request telework; employers must make effort to accommodate	April 2025
Flexible work options for parents of 3–school age	Employers must offer at least 2 options from: telework, reduced hours, flextime, staggered hours, no overtime	October 2025
Individual notification obligation	Employers must individually inform expecting employees of leave options and gauge their intention	Already in effect (Oct 2022), strengthened in 2025
Disclosure of leave uptake rates	Companies with 300+ employees must publish their childcare leave uptake rates	April 2025
Expanded child nursing leave	Child nursing leave (子の看護休暇) now covers school events and schedule changes, not just illness	April 2025

The new 80% benefit: how it works

Japan's regular childcare leave benefit (育児休業給付金 / ikuji kyuugyou kyuufu kin) pays 67% of salary for the first 180 days, then 50% after that. The new 出生後休業支援給付 (shussei go kyuugyou shien kyuufu) — post-birth leave support benefit — adds an extra 13% on top, bringing the effective rate to 80% of salary for the first 28 days.

Conditions to receive the 80% rate

Both parents must each take at least 14 days of childcare leave within the child's first year of life
The 80% rate applies to the first 28 days of each parent's leave
The father can use this during 産後パパ育休 (postnatal papa leave — first 8 weeks) or regular childcare leave
The mother can use this during her childcare leave period (after the 8-week maternity leave ends)

Why 80%? After deducting social insurance premiums (which are exempt during childcare leave), the effective take-home pay at the 80% rate is roughly equal to working salary. The government's goal: eliminate the financial excuse for not taking leave.

If only one parent takes leave

The standard 67% rate still applies. The 80% bonus is specifically designed to incentivize BOTH parents — especially fathers — to take leave.

Existing childcare leave rights (quick refresher)

Before diving into the new changes, here's what already existed:

For mothers

産前産後休業 (sanzen sango kyuugyou) — Maternity leave: 6 weeks before due date + 8 weeks after birth. Mandatory for the first 6 weeks after birth. Paid at 67% of salary through health insurance (出産手当金).
育児休業 (ikuji kyuugyou) — Childcare leave: After maternity leave ends (8 weeks after birth) until the child turns 1. Can extend to 1.5 or 2 years if daycare is not available.

For fathers

産後パパ育休 (sango papa ikukyuu) — Postnatal papa leave: Up to 4 weeks within the first 8 weeks after birth. Can be split into 2 periods. Can work partially during leave (up to 10 days).
育児休業 — Regular childcare leave: Same as mothers — until child turns 1, extendable to 2 years. Can be split into 2 periods.

The April 2025 reform doesn't change these existing rights — it adds new benefits and flexibility on top of them.

New rights for parents of children under 3

Even after returning to work from childcare leave, parents of young children now have additional protections:

Telework request right

Parents of children under 3 can request to telework. The employer must make an effort to accommodate (努力義務 / doryoku gimu). This is not an absolute right — the employer can refuse if the job genuinely cannot be done remotely — but they must explain why.

Reduced working hours

The existing right to reduced working hours (短時間勤務制度 / tanjikan kinmu seido) continues: parents of children under 3 can request to work 6 hours per day instead of 8, with proportional pay reduction. This was already mandatory for employers and remains so.

New flexible work options for parents of children 3 to school age

This is new from October 2025. Employers must offer at least 2 of the following 5 options to employees with children aged 3 to elementary school entry:

Telework (テレワーク)
Reduced working hours (短時間勤務)
Flextime (フレックスタイム)
Staggered working hours (時差出勤)
Employer-provided childcare facilities or equivalent support

The employee chooses from the options their employer offers. The employer cannot refuse the employee's choice from the available options.

Expanded child nursing leave (子の看護休暇)

Previously, child nursing leave (子の看護休暇 / ko no kango kyuuka) was limited to children of pre-school age and only for illness or vaccinations. From April 2025, the scope expanded significantly:

Age limit extended: Now covers children up to completion of 3rd grade of elementary school (approximately age 9), up from pre-school age
School closures (学級閉鎖 / gakkyuu heisa — e.g., flu outbreaks) now qualify
School events (入学式, 卒業式, 授業参観 — entrance ceremonies, graduation, class observation) now qualify
Renamed to 子の看護等休暇 to reflect the broader scope
The exclusion of employees with less than 6 months of service has been abolished

The allowance is: 5 days per year for 1 child, 10 days for 2+ children. These can be taken in half-day units. This is unpaid leave unless your company chooses to pay it.

New: reduced-hours work supplement (育児時短就業給付)

Also new from April 2025: if you return to work on reduced hours (時短勤務) to care for a child under 2, you receive a supplement of approximately 10% of your reduced salary to partially offset the income loss. This is separate from the leave benefits above and applies when you're back at work on shorter hours rather than taking full leave.

If your employer is pushing back on your leave rights or you're unsure what you're entitled to, that's exactly why I built LO-PAL. Post your question for free — a local helper with knowledge of Japanese labor law can help you understand your rights and even help you draft a request to your employer in Japanese.

Who qualifies? (Foreign workers included)

These rights apply to all employees in Japan regardless of nationality. If you have an employment contract (正社員, 契約社員, or part-time with sufficient tenure), you qualify. Specifically:

Regular employees (正社員): Full rights from day one
Contract/part-time employees: The statutory 1-year continuous employment requirement was removed in April 2022. However, your employer CAN still require it through a labor-management agreement (労使協定). Check with your HR department.
Dispatched workers (派遣社員): Eligible, but leave is requested through the dispatch company

Visa implications: Taking childcare leave does NOT affect your visa status. Your employment relationship continues during leave. However, if you're changing visa categories, consult immigration about how the leave period is counted. For maintaining childcare leave benefits after a daycare rejection, see our guide to keeping childcare leave pay.

What employers must do now

The 2025 reform significantly strengthened employer obligations:

Individual notification: When an employee (or their spouse) becomes pregnant, the employer must individually inform them of available leave options and gauge their intention to take leave. This isn't optional — failing to do so violates the law.
Disclosure: Companies with 300+ employees must publicly disclose their childcare leave uptake rates (including separate male/female rates from April 2025).
No retaliation: Employers cannot disadvantage employees for taking childcare leave — no demotion, pay cut, unfavorable transfers, or termination. This protection already existed but the 2025 revision strengthened enforcement.

Get Your Rights Explained in Plain Language

Japanese labor law is detailed and your employer may not proactively explain everything you're entitled to. Post your question on LO-PAL for free — a local helper can review your situation, explain your rights in plain language, and help you communicate with your employer or HR department in Japanese. You only pay when you accept task help.