This is in response to Japan’s birthrates having fallen for the
last 28 years straight and the work force shrinking now every year in Japan.
CNN.com/asia
By CNN's Kyung Lah
In a country where 12-hour workdays are common, the electronics giant has taken
to letting its employees leave early twice a week for a rather unusual reason:
to encourage them to have more babies.
"Canon has a very strong birth
planning program," says the company's spokesman Hiroshi Yoshinaga. "Sending workers home early to be with
their families is a part of it."
Japan in the
midst of an unprecedented recession, so corporations are being asked to work
toward fixing another major problem: the country's low birthrate. At 1.34, the birthrate is
well below the 2.0 needed to maintain
One reason for the low birth rate is the 12-hour workday.
But there are several other factors compounding the problem -- among them, the
high cost of living, and social rigidity toward women and parenting.
In addition,
Analysts say the world's
second-largest economy faces its greatest threat from its own social problems,
rather than outside forces. And the country desperately needs to make some
fixes to its current social and work structures, sociologists say.
Canon says its 5:30 p.m. lights-out program is one simple
step toward helping address the population problem. It also has an added
benefit: Amid the global economic downturn the company can slash overtime
across the board twice a week.
"It's great that we can
go home early and not feel ashamed," said employee Miwa Iwasaki