In the latest effort to arrest the nation's falling birthrate, a government task force Friday approved a new five-year plan that includes numerical targets and the introduction of child-care leave at all companies.
The task force, headed by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, based its plan on an outline adopted in June that also called for firms to reduce by at least 10 percent the number of employees who work 60 or more hours a week.
Key pillars of Friday's plan include encouraging young people to become more independent and supporting efforts to balance work and household chores while reviewing the way people work.