Act on Childcare Leave, Caregiver Leave, and Other Measures for the Welfare of Workers Caring for Children or Other Family Members
育児休業、介護休業等育児又は家族介護を行う労働者の福祉に関する法律
Leave and working arrangements that let a worker raising a child or caring for a family member keep their job: childcare leave, caregiver leave, days off to look after a child or a family member, limits on overtime and night work, shorter hours, and the measures employers must take.
- Text in force since
- Promulgated
- Articles
- 79
- Amendments on the way
- 1
What this law does
- A worker raising a child under one can take childcare leave (育児休業) by applying to their employer, and the employer cannot refuse, except to workers left out by a written agreement with the majority union at the workplace or, where there is none, the majority representative (書面による協定). Before the child reaches one, it can be taken in at most two periods, unless special circumstances a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order sets apply. If the start date asked for comes before one month has passed from the day after the application (two weeks for an application to extend the leave past one, or past one and a half, made by the day the child reaches that age), the employer may set the start date on any day up to the end of that period.(Art. 5(1), Art. 5(2), Art. 6(1), Art. 6(3)) (the provisions it rests on)
Read the full overview
- Childcare leave from the age of one to one and a half, and from one and a half to two, is open only where the worker or their spouse is on childcare leave on the day the child reaches the earlier age, the worker has not already taken leave under that rule for that stage, and leave is especially needed to keep the job in a case a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order sets; where special circumstances such an Order sets exist, that need alone is enough. Unless those special circumstances exist, the leave starts on the day after the child reaches the earlier age or, where the spouse is on such leave, on a day no later than the day after the spouse's leave is due to end.(Art. 5(3), Art. 5(3)(i), Art. 5(3)(ii), Art. 5(3)(iii), Art. 5(4), Art. 5(6), Art. 5(6)(i), Art. 5(6)(ii)) (the provisions it rests on)
- Where the worker's spouse has been on childcare leave for the child on some day up to the day the child reaches one, the worker can take childcare leave until the child reaches one year and two months, if it starts no later than the day after the child reaches one and not before the spouse's leave began. It ends, at the latest, when the worker's own days of leave for the child — counting maternity leave under Article 65 of the Labor Standards Act and parental leave (出生時育児休業) — reach the number of days from the birth to the day the child reaches one. Leave a spouse takes as a Diet employee, a national or local public servant or a judge, under the separate Acts for them, counts as the spouse's childcare leave for this rule and for the extensions past one and one and a half.(Art. 9-6(1), Art. 9-6(2), Art. 9-7(1), Labor Standards Act Art. 65(1), Labor Standards Act Art. 65(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
- A worker can take parental leave (出生時育児休業) by applying to their employer: up to four weeks (28 days) in all, in at most two periods, between the child's birth and the day after eight weeks have passed (a window that shifts if the child is born before or after the expected date). The employer cannot refuse, except to workers left out by a written agreement with the majority union or majority representative, or a second application for the same child made after the first; if the leave is to start less than two weeks after the application, it may set the start date on any day up to two weeks after it, or up to a month where such an agreement sets that period along with measures to ease applications. A worker such an agreement names may offer days on which they can work during the leave, and the employer may have them work on those days only with their consent, given before the leave starts, and within limits a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order sets.(Art. 9-2(1), Art. 9-2(2), Art. 9-3(1), Art. 9-3(2), Art. 9-3(3), Art. 9-3(4), Art. 9-5(2), Art. 9-5(4)) (the provisions it rests on)
- A worker can take caregiver leave (介護休業) by applying to their employer, to care for an applicable family member (対象家族) requiring caregiving (要介護状態) — needing constant care, for a period a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order sets, because of injury, illness or a physical or mental disability. Applicable family members are the spouse, including a de facto spouse, the parents, the children and the spouse's parents, with people such an Order treats as equal to parents and children; the leave can be taken at most three times and for 93 days in all for each family member. The employer cannot refuse it, except to workers left out by a written agreement with the majority union or majority representative, and where the leave is to start less than two weeks after the application it may set the start date on any day up to two weeks after it.(Art. 11(1), Art. 11(2), Art. 2(1)(ii), Art. 2(1)(iii), Art. 2(1)(iv), Art. 12(1), Art. 12(2), Art. 12(3), Art. 15(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- A worker raising a child up to the first 31 March after the child turns nine can take leave to look after the child (子の看護等休暇) — to care for a child who is injured or ill, for care a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order sets to prevent illness, during a school closure under Article 20 of the School Health and Safety Act (a separate Act) or for a similar reason such an Order sets, or to attend school or childcare events it specifies — for up to five working days a year, or ten with two or more such children. A worker looking after an applicable family member requiring caregiving, in ways such an Order sets, can likewise take short-term leave for caregiver (介護休暇) for up to five working days a year, or ten for two or more such family members. The employer cannot refuse either, except to workers a written agreement with the majority union or majority representative leaves out; both can be taken in units shorter than a day, except by workers with short daily hours an Order names, and the year runs from 1 April unless the employer sets otherwise.(Art. 16-2(1), Art. 16-2(2), Art. 16-2(4), Art. 16-3(1), Art. 16-5(1), Art. 16-5(2), Art. 16-5(4), Art. 16-6(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- A worker raising a child who has not yet started primary school, or caring for an applicable family member requiring caregiving, can ask their employer not to have them work beyond their scheduled working hours or, where overtime is allowed under Article 36(1) of the Labor Standards Act, not to extend their working hours beyond 24 hours a month and 150 hours a year. Each request covers one period of one month to one year, is made at least a month before it starts, and must not overlap a period under the other kind of request. The employer must comply unless it would hinder the normal running of the business; the overtime limit is not open to a worker employed by the employer for less than a year or to others a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order names, and the limit on work beyond scheduled hours can be closed to the same workers by a written agreement with the majority union or majority representative.(Art. 16-8(1), Art. 16-8(2), Art. 16-9(1), Art. 17(1), Art. 17(2), Art. 18(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- A worker raising a child who has not yet started primary school, or caring for an applicable family member requiring caregiving, can also ask not to be made to work between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., for one period of one to six months, asked for at least a month before it starts; the employer must comply unless it would hinder the normal running of the business. The request is not open to a worker employed by the employer for less than a year, to one where a family member living with the child or another person a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order names can normally look after the child, or the family member, at night, or to others such an Order names.(Art. 19(1), Art. 19(1)(i), Art. 19(1)(ii), Art. 19(1)(iii), Art. 19(2), Art. 20(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- For a worker raising a child under three who is not on childcare leave, the employer must provide shorter scheduled working hours on application, except to workers with short daily hours a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order names. For a child from three until primary school, it must offer at least two of: a change of start and finish times of a kind such an Order sets, work from home or a similar place (在宅勤務等), shorter hours, extra leave for raising the child, or another measure an Order sets — choosing them after hearing the majority union or majority representative, and telling each worker with a child under three about them, and asking which they want, in a period an Order sets. For a worker caring for an applicable family member requiring caregiving who is not on caregiver leave, it must provide shorter hours or another measure easing the care, usable over at least three consecutive years from a day the worker names; a written agreement with the majority union or majority representative can leave some workers out of each of these three duties.(Art. 23(1), Art. 23-3(1), Art. 23-3(3), Art. 23-3(4), Art. 23-3(5), Art. 23(3), Art. 23(4)) (the provisions it rests on)
- When a worker tells the employer that they or their spouse are pregnant or have given birth, or of a similar fact a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order sets, the employer must tell them about childcare leave and the other matters such an Order sets, hold an interview or take another step an Order sets to learn whether they mean to apply for leave, and ask their wishes on the working conditions an Order sets, which it must take into account. The same duty to inform and ask arises when a worker reports that an applicable family member (対象家族) has come to need their care, and every worker must be told about caregiver leave and the other support for carers in a period an Order sets, such as the fiscal year they turn 40. The employer must also take at least one of these steps each for childcare leave, for caregiver leave and for the other support for carers: training for its workers, a consultation service, or another step an Order sets.(Art. 21(1), Art. 21(2), Art. 21(3), Art. 21(4), Art. 21(5), Art. 22(1), Art. 22(2), Art. 22(4)) (the provisions it rests on)
- An employer must not dismiss or otherwise treat a worker disadvantageously because they applied for or took childcare leave, parental leave, caregiver leave, leave to look after a child or short-term leave for caregiver, declined to work during parental leave, asked for the limits on work beyond scheduled hours, overtime or night work, or applied for or used shorter hours or the other measures. Nor may it do so because the worker made the reports that trigger the duty to inform, or because of the wishes they expressed.(Art. 10(1), Art. 16(1), Art. 16-4(1), Art. 16-7(1), Art. 16-10(1), Art. 18-2(1), Art. 20-2(1), Art. 21(6), Art. 23-2(1), Art. 23-3(7)) (the provisions it rests on)
- The employer must set up a system for answering workers' consultations, and take the other employment-management measures needed, so that no worker's working environment is harmed by conduct at the workplace about their use of childcare leave, caregiver leave or the other systems a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order sets; it must not dismiss or otherwise disadvantage a worker for seeking such a consultation or for stating facts while helping the employer deal with one. Employers, their officers and workers are each to try to take care in their conduct towards other workers on these matters.(Art. 25(1), Art. 25(2), Art. 25-2(2), Art. 25-2(3), Art. 25-2(4)) (the provisions it rests on)
Childcare leaveParental leave after birthCaregiver leaveLeave to look after a childLimits on overtimeShorter working hoursDisadvantageous treatmentHarassment over leave
Contents
79 370 126 40 116
- Chapter I General Provisions第一章 総則Articles 1–4 · 4
- Chapter II Childcare Leave第二章 育児休業Articles 5–10 · 12
- Chapter III Caregiver Leave第三章 介護休業Articles 11–16 · 6
- Chapter IV Short-term Leave for Sick/Injured Childcare, etc.第四章 子の看護等休暇Articles 16-2–16-4 · 3
- Chapter V Short-term Leave for Caregiver第五章 介護休暇Articles 16-5–16-7 · 3
- Chapter VI Limitations on Unscheduled Work第六章 所定外労働の制限Articles 16-8–16-10 · 3
- Chapter VII Limitations on Overtime Work第七章 時間外労働の制限Articles 17–18-2 · 3
- Chapter VIII Limitations on Late-Night Work第八章 深夜業の制限Articles 19–20-2 · 3
- Chapter IX Measures to be Taken by Employers第九章 事業主が講ずべき措置等Articles 21–29 · 14
- Chapter X Support for Applicable Workers from the National Government第十章 対象労働者等に対する国等による援助Articles 30–36 · 7
- Chapter XI Dispute Resolution第十一章 紛争の解決Articles 52-2–52-6 · 5
- Section 1 Assistance in Dispute Resolution第一節 紛争の解決の援助等Articles 52-2–52-4 · 3
- Section 2 Conciliation第二節 調停Articles 52-5–52-6 · 2
- Chapter XII Miscellaneous Provisions第十二章 雑則Articles 53–61-2 · 11
- Chapter XIII Penal Provisions第十三章 罰則Articles 62–66 · 5
Amendments
A Japanese law is changed by another law or order that rewrites it — an . This law has 1 amendment on the way — , but . Its amendment history is below. The amendments this site has read the changes of are on this law's amendments page, provision by provision, in Japanese and English.
1 October 2026
in 3 days
Act Partially Amending the Act on Comprehensively Advancing Labor Measures, and Stabilizing the Employment of Workers, and Enriching Workers' Vocational Lives, etc.
労働施策の総合的な推進並びに労働者の雇用の安定及び職業生活の充実等に関する法律等の一部を改正する法律
20 amendments already in force
1 October 2025
The text on this site
Act Partially Amending the Act on Childcare Leave, Caregiver Leave, and Other Measures for the Welfare of Workers Caring for Children or Other Family Members, and the Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children
育児休業、介護休業等育児又は家族介護を行う労働者の福祉に関する法律及び次世代育成支援対策推進法の一部を改正する法律
1 June 2025
Act on the Arrangement of Related Acts upon the Enforcement of the Act Partially Amending the Penal Code, etc. (extract)
刑法等の一部を改正する法律の施行に伴う関係法律の整理等に関する法律 抄
1 April 2025
Act Partially Amending the Act on Childcare Leave, Caregiver Leave, and Other Measures for the Welfare of Workers Caring for Children or Other Family Members, and the Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children
育児休業、介護休業等育児又は家族介護を行う労働者の福祉に関する法律及び次世代育成支援対策推進法の一部を改正する法律
31 May 2024
Act Partially Amending the Act on Childcare Leave, Caregiver Leave, and Other Measures for the Welfare of Workers Caring for Children or Other Family Members, and the Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children
育児休業、介護休業等育児又は家族介護を行う労働者の福祉に関する法律及び次世代育成支援対策推進法の一部を改正する法律
1 April 2023
Act Partially Amending the Local Public Service Act
地方公務員法の一部を改正する法律
1 April 2023
Act Partially Amending the National Public Service Act, etc.
国家公務員法等の一部を改正する法律
1 April 2023
Act Partially Amending the Act on Childcare Leave, Caregiver Leave, and Other Measures for the Welfare of Workers Caring for Children or Other Family Members and the Employment Insurance Act
育児休業、介護休業等育児又は家族介護を行う労働者の福祉に関する法律及び雇用保険法の一部を改正する法律
1 October 2022
Act Partially Amending the Employment Insurance Act, etc.
雇用保険法等の一部を改正する法律
1 October 2022
Act Partially Amending the Act on Childcare Leave, Caregiver Leave, and Other Measures for the Welfare of Workers Caring for Children or Other Family Members and the Employment Insurance Act
育児休業、介護休業等育児又は家族介護を行う労働者の福祉に関する法律及び雇用保険法の一部を改正する法律
17 June 2022
Act on the Arrangement of Related Acts upon the Enforcement of the Act Partially Amending the Penal Code, etc.
刑法等の一部を改正する法律の施行に伴う関係法律の整理等に関する法律
1 April 2022
Act Partially Amending the Act on Childcare Leave, Caregiver Leave, and Other Measures for the Welfare of Workers Caring for Children or Other Family Members and the Employment Insurance Act
育児休業、介護休業等育児又は家族介護を行う労働者の福祉に関する法律及び雇用保険法の一部を改正する法律
31 March 2022
Act Partially Amending the Employment Insurance Act, etc.
雇用保険法等の一部を改正する法律
9 June 2021
Act Partially Amending the Act on Childcare Leave, Caregiver Leave, and Other Measures for the Welfare of Workers Caring for Children or Other Family Members and the Employment Insurance Act
育児休業、介護休業等育児又は家族介護を行う労働者の福祉に関する法律及び雇用保険法の一部を改正する法律
1 June 2020
Act Partially Amending the Act on Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement in the Workplace, etc.
女性の職業生活における活躍の推進に関する法律等の一部を改正する法律
5 June 2019
Act Partially Amending the Act on Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement in the Workplace, etc.
女性の職業生活における活躍の推進に関する法律等の一部を改正する法律
1 April 2019
Act on the Arrangement of Related Acts to Promote Work Style Reform
働き方改革を推進するための関係法律の整備に関する法律
1 January 2018
Act Partially Amending the Employment Insurance Act, etc.
雇用保険法等の一部を改正する法律
1 October 2017
Act Partially Amending the Employment Insurance Act, etc.
雇用保険法等の一部を改正する法律
1 April 2017
Act Partially Amending the Employment Insurance Act, etc.
雇用保険法等の一部を改正する法律
1 April 2017
Act Partially Amending the Child Welfare Act, etc.
児童福祉法等の一部を改正する法律
Who it applies to
It applies to
- Workers (労働者) raising a child or caring for a family member, who hold the Act's rights. Throughout the Act, except in the definition of applicable family members (対象家族), a worker's child includes a child the worker is looking after while a family court decides their application for a special adoption (特別養子縁組), a child placed with the worker as a foster parent wishing to adopt (養子縁組里親), and others a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order treats the same way. Workers themselves are to try to prepare for a smooth return to work after leave, and to take care in their conduct towards other workers about the use of these systems.(Art. 2(1)(i), Art. 3(2), Art. 25-2(4)) (the provisions it rests on)
- Workers on fixed-term contracts (期間を定めて雇用される者) can apply for childcare leave only if it is not clear that their contract, counting renewals, will end by the time the child reaches one and a half (two, for leave past one and a half) — though a worker already on childcare leave on the day the child reaches one, applying for leave from the next day, need not meet this for leave to one and a half. They can apply for parental leave only if it is not clear that the contract will end within six months after the day after eight weeks from the birth, and for caregiver leave only if it is not clear that it will end within six months after the 93rd day from the leave's planned start. These conditions do not apply when, on renewing a contract that ends on the last day of their leave, they apply for leave starting on the new contract's first day.(Art. 5(1), Art. 5(3), Art. 5(5), Art. 5(7), Art. 9-2(1), Art. 9-2(4), Art. 11(1), Art. 11(4)) (the provisions it rests on)
2 more
- Employers (事業主) of these workers carry the Act's duties: to grant the leave and meet the requests, to take the measures of Chapter 9, and to try to promote these workers' welfare and to appoint a person in charge of these measures. An employer regularly employing more than 300 workers must also publish, at least once a year, the figures on its workers' childcare leave a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order specifies.(Art. 4(1), Art. 6(1), Chapter 9, Art. 29(1), Art. 22-2(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- The national government and local governments are to try to promote these workers' welfare. The national government may give employers advice and payments (給付金), gives these workers guidance and courses, and helps those who left work because of pregnancy, childbirth, childcare or care (育児等退職者) find work again; local governments are to try to set up family support centers for workers (勤労者家庭支援施設).(Art. 4(1), Art. 30(1), Art. 31(1), Art. 32(1), Art. 34(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
It does not apply to
- In Chapters 2 to 8 (the leave, the short leaves and the limits on working hours), Articles 21 to 24, 25(1), 25-2(1) and (3), 26, 28 and 29 and Chapter 11 (settling disputes), a worker does not include someone hired day by day (日々雇用される者).(Art. 2(1)(i)) (the provisions it rests on)
- National public servants (国家公務員): Chapters 2 to 9 (the leave, the short leaves, the limits on working hours and the employer's measures), Article 30 (help to employers), Chapter 11 (settling disputes), and Articles 53, 54, 56, 56-2, 60, 62 to 64 and 66 (recruitment through associations, the Minister's reports and recommendations, publication, the rules for seafarers and the penalties) do not apply to them. Staff of administrative executive agencies (行政執行法人) have their own rules in Article 61 (see exceptions).(Art. 61(1), Art. 61(3)) (the provisions it rests on)
1 more
- Local public servants (地方公務員): Chapters 2 to 9 (the leave, the short leaves, the limits on working hours and the employer's measures), Article 30 (help to employers), Chapter 11 (settling disputes), and Articles 53, 54, 56, 56-2, 60, 62 to 64 and 66 (recruitment through associations, the Minister's reports and recommendations, publication, the rules for seafarers and the penalties) do not apply to them. Article 61-2 sets their own rules (see exceptions).(Art. 61-2(1), Art. 61-2(3)) (the provisions it rests on)
Special rules and exceptions (6)
- By a written agreement with the majority union at the workplace or, where there is none, the majority representative (書面による協定), an employer may refuse childcare leave, parental leave and caregiver leave to the workers the agreement names from among those it has employed for less than a year and those a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order names as having reasonable grounds, and may leave the same workers out of the limit on work beyond scheduled hours, shorter hours for childcare, the caregiving measures and the measures for children from three until primary school; a worker so refused cannot take the leave. Neither the agreement nor the employer's power to set a later start date can be used against a fixed-term worker who, on renewing a contract that ends on the last day of their leave, applies for leave from the new contract's first day. For leave to look after a child and short-term leave for caregiver, an agreement can leave out only the workers the Order names and, for taking the leave in units shorter than a day, those whose work makes that hard — as it can for taking the extra childcare leave among the measures for children from three in such units.(Art. 6(1), Art. 6(1)(i), Art. 6(1)(ii), Art. 6(2), Art. 6(4), Art. 9-3(2), Art. 9-3(5), Art. 12(2), Art. 12(4), Art. 16-8(1), Art. 23(1), Art. 23(3), Art. 23-3(3), Art. 16-3(2), Art. 16-6(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
- A written agreement with the majority union or majority representative can also leave out of shorter hours for a child under three the workers whose work, by its nature or the way it is organised, makes shorter hours hard to provide. For them the employer must instead provide a measure like childcare leave, work from home or a similar place, or a change of start and finish times — such as flextime under Article 32-3(1) of the Labor Standards Act — or another measure a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order sets.(Art. 23(1)(iii), Art. 23(2), Art. 23(2)(i), Art. 23(2)(ii)) (the provisions it rests on)
- Seafarers under the Mariners Act, and people seeking to become seafarers under the Mariners' Employment Security Act (both separate Acts), are not covered by Chapters 6 and 7 (the limits on work beyond scheduled hours and on overtime), Articles 52-6 to 54 (the conciliation procedure and recruitment through associations) or the penalties in Articles 62 to 65. For them, Orders of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and its Minister take the place of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's, the Director-General of the District Transport Bureau takes the place of the Prefectural Labour Bureau's, and conciliation is by a conciliator that Director-General names from a list of candidates.(Art. 60(1), Art. 60(2), Art. 60(3)) (the provisions it rests on)
- Staff of administrative executive agencies (行政執行法人) can take, with the approval of the agency head, caregiver leave (at most three times and 93 days in all for each continuous period in which a family member needs care), leave to look after a child and leave to care for a family member (five days a year each, ten for two or more), and time off of up to two hours a day for caregiving within three consecutive years; the head must approve each except for days or hours when the agency's work would be hindered. The head must also approve requests to limit work beyond scheduled hours, overtime and night work where the agency's work allows, and provide shorter hours for childcare and the measures for children from three. For their childcare leave, the Act refers to leave under Article 3(1) of the Act on Childcare Leave, etc. of National Public Servants (国家公務員の育児休業等に関する法律), a separate Act.(Art. 61(3), Art. 61(4), Art. 61(5), Art. 61(6), Art. 61(7), Art. 61(9), Art. 61(10), Art. 61(11), Art. 61(13), Art. 61(14), Art. 61(16), Art. 61(18), Art. 61(28), Art. 61(30), Art. 61(31), Art. 61(32), Art. 61(34), Art. 61(41)(i), Art. 61(45)) (the provisions it rests on)
- Local public servants, with the approval of their appointing authority (任命権者等), can take caregiver leave (at most three times and 93 days in all for each continuous period in which a family member needs care), leave to look after a child and leave to care for a family member (five days a year each, ten for two or more), and time off of up to two hours a day for caregiving within three consecutive years, which the authority must approve unless it would hinder public duties. The authority must also approve requests to limit work beyond scheduled hours, overtime and night work where public duties allow, and take measures against harassment over childcare and care leave.(Art. 61-2(3), Art. 61-2(4), Art. 61-2(5), Art. 61-2(6), Art. 61-2(7), Art. 61-2(9), Art. 61-2(10), Art. 61-2(11), Art. 61-2(13), Art. 61-2(14), Art. 61-2(16), Art. 61-2(18), Art. 61-2(20), Art. 61-2(21), Art. 61-2(22), Art. 61-2(23)) (the provisions it rests on)
- A small or medium-sized business (中小企業者) can have a certified association (認定中小企業団体) it belongs to recruit workers to do the work of staff on childcare or caregiver leave, without Article 36(1) and (3) of the Employment Security Act, a separate Act, applying to it, once the association has notified the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare of the recruitment.(Art. 53(1), Art. 53(4)) (the provisions it rests on)
How it is enforced (6)
- The Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare sets and publishes guidelines (指針) on the measures employers are to take under Articles 21 to 25, 26 and 27, and, where needed to enforce the Act, may ask employers for reports and give them advice, guidance or a recommendation (勧告). A Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order can hand part of these powers to the Director-General of the Prefectural Labour Bureau (都道府県労働局長).(Art. 28(1), Art. 56(1), Art. 58(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- If an employer breaking one of the duties the Act lists — among them granting the leave and the requests on working hours, not treating a worker disadvantageously, informing workers and asking their wishes, shorter hours and the measures for older children, the measures against harassment, and considering a worker's childcare or care when moving them to another workplace — does not follow a recommendation, the Minister may make that fact public.(Art. 56-2(1), Art. 26(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- The Act's only penalty on its employer duties is a non-criminal fine (過料) of up to 200,000 yen for not making a report the Minister asks for under Article 56, or making a false one. The Act's criminal penalties — up to a year's imprisonment (拘禁刑) or a fine of up to 1,000,000 yen at the most serious, with the business fined as well — concern only recruitment of replacement workers through a certified association of small businesses under Article 53.(Art. 66(1), Art. 62(1), Art. 63(1), Art. 64(1), Art. 65(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- When a worker complains about childcare leave, parental leave, caregiver leave, the short leaves, the limits on working hours, being informed and asked about leave, shorter hours and the other measures, or a move to another workplace, the employer is to try to settle it itself, for instance by referring it to a grievance body of employer and worker representatives at that workplace.(Art. 52-2(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- A dispute between a worker and the employer over those matters or over the measures against harassment is handled under this Act instead of Articles 4, 5 and 12 to 19 of the Act on Promoting the Resolution of Individual Labor-Related Disputes, a separate Act. If one or both sides ask for help, the Director-General of the Prefectural Labour Bureau may give them advice, guidance or a recommendation, and the employer must not dismiss or otherwise disadvantage a worker for asking.(Art. 52-3(1), Art. 52-4(1), Art. 52-4(2), Art. 25(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
- If one or both sides apply for conciliation (調停) and the Director-General finds it needed, the Dispute Coordinating Committee (紛争調整委員会) set up under that Act conducts it, under the conciliation rules of the Act on Equal Opportunity and Treatment between Men and Women in Employment — another separate Act — as this Act adapts them. The employer must not dismiss or otherwise disadvantage a worker for applying.(Art. 52-5(1), Art. 52-5(2), Art. 52-6(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
How it connects to other laws
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Where the translation comes from
- 281
- 326
- 60not translated
The Ministry of Justice's translation is shown only where the Japanese it translates matches the law in force today. Everywhere else the English is a machine translation, marked on the paragraph itself.
Only the Japanese is the law, and no lawyer has reviewed the machine translation.
Sources
Everything this page rests on
- e-Gov (Digital Agency)育児休業、介護休業等育児又は家族介護を行う労働者の福祉に関する法律 — the text in force from 2025-10-01Original
- e-Gov (Digital Agency)育児休業、介護休業等育児又は家族介護を行う労働者の福祉に関する法律 — revision historyOriginal
- Japanese Law Translation, Ministry of JusticeAct on Childcare Leave, Caregiver Leave, and Other Measures for the Welfare of Workers Caring for Children or Other Family Members — Ministry of Justice translationOriginal
- Machine translation, not official
- Written for this site with AIEnglish titles of amending laws, written for this site
- Written for this site with AIDescriptions of each law, written for this site
- Worked out by this site from e-Gov's text