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.
