Japan's fathers get leave to do their bit

In 2019, at a cafe in Tokyo, a younger friend of mine who is also a relative informed me that in a few weeks' time he was going to take four months off work to help his wife to look after their 6-month-old daughter. I remember staring at him for a full five seconds before picking my jaw up from the floor. "How did you square it with your company?" I spluttered.