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Economy

Ratio of working women jumps to record in Japan

Labor shortage forces employers to be more flexible with hours

More Japanese women are now balancing jobs and child care as labor shortages deepen.

TOKYO -- More than three-quarters of Japanese women of prime age to start families are now in the workforce, signaling a break from the long-running trend of mothers quitting jobs to care for newborn babies.

A record 75.7% of women between the ages of 25 and 39 held jobs in 2017, up 5.9 percentage points from 2012, according to a survey by the Internal Affairs Ministry. Confronted by a labor shortage, companies are offering flexible hours, enabling mothers with small children to hold on to their jobs.

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