Jun 06 (NHK) - Lawmakers from Japan's governing Liberal Democratic Party have launched a group to consider ways to encourage men to take childcare leave.
Japan's health and labor ministry says that as of October last year, over 82 percent of new mothers took childcare leave, while the figure was over 6 percent among new fathers.
At the group's inaugural meeting on Wednesday, former education minister Hirokazu Matsuno called for speedy efforts to change the public mindset about men taking care of their children.
The lawmakers plan to mull legislation obliging companies to give childcare leave to all new fathers, even if they don't request it.
They will also campaign for more teleworking, so that child-rearing fathers can work from their homes.
