## Chart of the Week: Women Workers Wanted in Japan

_IMF Blog, November 21, 2017_

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Chart of the Week: Women Workers Wanted in Japan](https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2017/11/21/chart-of-the-week-motherhood-and-work-in-japan)

## Other formats

- [Markdown version](/en/blogs/articles/2017/11/21/chart-of-the-week-motherhood-and-work-in-japan/index.md)
- [Structured JSON version](/en/blogs/articles/2017/11/21/chart-of-the-week-motherhood-and-work-in-japan/index.json)
- [Bundle manifest](/en/blogs/articles/2017/11/21/chart-of-the-week-motherhood-and-work-in-japan/bundle-manifest.json)

## Bibliographic details
- Authors: The Editors
- Published: November 21, 2017

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### Problem and context
- Japan is the most aged society among advanced economies: almost 27 percent of its people are over 65.
- Japan faces a shortage of labor: unemployment is just 2.8 percent.
- Both aging and labor shortage limit the country’s growth potential.
- After 2018, the number of women of reproductive age will decline sharply.
- Japan’s total population is expected to drop between now and 2025 by almost 4 million—roughly the population of Los Angeles—and to decline even faster beyond that.

### Causes and mechanisms limiting female full-time work and fertility
- Institutional and cultural factors discourage childbearing and full-time female employment: the tax code, social norms and corporate labor practices.
- Lifetime employment has traditionally benefited Japanese men; the same isn’t true for women.
- More than half of Japanese women with jobs choose part-time or temporary work, largely to balance child care, elder care and housework.
- Frequent demands for overtime in regular employment—often underpaid or unpaid—discourage full-time participation and have led to cases of “karoshi,” or death from overwork.
- Part-time workers earn about half that of full timers, which has helped limit wage gains despite low unemployment.
- Wage scales are based in part on the number of dependents in the household, assuming the husband is the sole breadwinner.
- Many women choose part-time work to stay under the minimum income levels that are subject to tax.

### Evidence and research cited
- Evidence from Scandinavia suggests it is possible to reconcile higher female labor force participation with higher fertility.
- Research by IMF economists Naoko Miake, Kalpana Kochar, and Yuko Kinoshita supports the view that policy and norm changes can help.

### Policy recommendations and behavioral changes
- Reform the tax code to eliminate disincentives to full-time work for women.
- Provide more child-care facilities to reduce the childcare burden.
- Limit overtime hours to give men more time to share in housekeeping and childrearing duties, and to encourage mothers to keep their jobs.
- Encourage cultural and social-norm changes that support professional women having families.
- Promote greater time spent at home by men; studies suggest couples have a better chance of having a second child if the man spends more time at home.

*Source: Chart of the Week: Women Workers Wanted in Japan (The Editors, November 21, 2017).*

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## Content in this bundle

- **本周图表：日本需要女性工人; IMF博客; 2017 年11 月21 日**
  - [本周图表：日本需要女性工人; IMF博客; 2017 年11 月21 日 (Markdown version)](/external/chinese/np/blog/2017/112117c.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [本周图表：日本需要女性工人; IMF博客; 2017 年11 月21 日 (PDF)](/external/chinese/np/blog/2017/112117c.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}
- **今週のグラフ: 日本では働く女性が求められている;   IMF ブログ 2017年11月21日掲載**
  - [今週のグラフ: 日本では働く女性が求められている;   IMF ブログ 2017年11月21日掲載 (Markdown version)](/external/japanese/np/blog/2017/112117j.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [今週のグラフ: 日本では働く女性が求められている;   IMF ブログ 2017年11月21日掲載 (PDF)](/external/japanese/np/blog/2017/112117j.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}

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## References

- [https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/BLOG2-1024x600-JAPAN-mother_child-002_iStockby-Getty-Images.jpg](https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/BLOG2-1024x600-JAPAN-mother_child-002_iStockby-Getty-Images.jpg)
- [https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/ENG_Nov_15_JPN_Gender.jpg](https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/ENG_Nov_15_JPN_Gender.jpg)

_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2017/11/21/chart-of-the-week-motherhood-and-work-in-japan_