Maternity leave in Japan: 6 weeks before and 8 after birth, two-thirds pay, childcare leave to age 1 at 67% then 50%, and the 80% top-up from 2025.
Maternity leave in Japan is 6 weeks before the birth (14 for twins or more) and 8 weeks after, with two-thirds of your pay from company health insurance. Childcare leave runs until the child turns 1, or up to 2 with no daycare place, paid by employment insurance at 67% for 180 days, then 50%. Since April 2025, a 13% top-up for 28 days brings pay to 80% when both parents take 14 days. Foreign workers qualify on the same terms, as of October 2026.
Maternity leave in Japan is 6 weeks before the birth (14 weeks for twins or more) and 8 weeks after it, with two-thirds of your pay from company health insurance. Then either parent can take childcare leave until the child turns 1, paid at 67% for the first 180 days and 50% after. Since April 2025, a 13% top-up can lift pay to 80% for up to 28 days. Foreign employees qualify on the same terms as Japanese ones, as of October 2026.
The Labor Standards Act (労働基準法, Article 65) sets maternity leave (産前産後休業, sanzen sango kyūgyō):
| Period | Rule |
|---|---|
| Before the birth | If you ask, your employer must not make you work within 6 weeks of the due date (14 weeks for twins or more) |
| After the birth | Your employer must not let you work for 8 weeks. From week 6, you may return if you ask and a doctor says it is fine |
| While pregnant | If you ask, your employer must move you to lighter work |
Leave before the birth is your choice; the 8 weeks after are not.
If you are in company health insurance (健康保険), it pays a maternity allowance (出産手当金, shussan teate-kin) for days you are off without salary:
Apply to your health insurer with the 出産手当金支給申請書 form. The costs of the birth itself are covered separately: see giving birth in Japan.
Under the Child Care and Family Care Leave Act (育児・介護休業法), mothers and fathers can each take childcare leave (育児休業, ikuji kyūgyō):
Your employer cannot refuse leave that meets the law, and it must not dismiss you or treat you worse because you asked for or took leave (Article 10).
Post-birth childcare leave (出生時育児休業, known as 産後パパ育休) is extra leave for the parent who did not give birth, usually the father:
Employment insurance pays it. Applications go to the Hello Work (ハローワーク) office for your workplace; its call center is 0570-200-406 (weekdays 8:30 to 17:15, Japanese).
| Benefit | Rate | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Childcare leave benefit (育児休業給付金) | 67% of your pre-leave daily wage for the first 180 days, 50% after | Either parent on childcare leave |
| Post-birth childcare leave benefit (出生時育児休業給付金) | 67%, up to 28 days | The parent on 産後パパ育休 |
| Post-birth leave support benefit (出生後休業支援給付金), from April 2025 | +13%, up to 28 days | Each parent who takes 14+ days, see below |
| Reduced-hours childcare benefit (育児時短就業給付金), from April 2025 | 10% of wages paid while on shorter hours | Parents of a child under 2 working shorter hours |
Your daily wage is your pay in the 6 months before leave (before maternity leave, for mothers) divided by 180, not counting bonuses. As of October 2026 the daily wage is capped at ¥16,540, so the most you can get for a 30-day period is ¥332,454 at 67% and ¥248,100 at 50%. These caps apply until 31 July 2027.
Example from the ministry
¥201,000 a month
Daily wage ¥10,000 x 30 days x 67%. The ministry's simulator, in Japanese, is at shussan.ikukyu-simu.mhlw.go.jp.
The post-birth leave support benefit adds 13% for up to 28 days, so pay reaches 80% (67% + 13%). The ministry says 80% is roughly your full take-home pay, because childcare leave benefits are tax-free and your social insurance premiums are waived. The cap for 28 days is ¥60,205.
To get it:
The exceptions include: you have no spouse, or your spouse is not employed, self-employed or freelance, or on postnatal leave. So a father whose wife just gave birth meets the spouse condition.
Yes. None of these laws has a nationality condition. What matters is your contract and insurance:
| You are | Childcare leave | 産後パパ育休 |
|---|---|---|
| Permanent (no fixed term) employee | Yes | Yes |
| Fixed-term contract (有期雇用) | Yes, unless it is clear your contract, including renewals, ends before the child is 1 year 6 months old | Yes, unless it is clear it ends within 6 months after the 8-week window |
| With the employer less than 1 year | Yes, unless a written labor-management agreement (労使協定) excludes you | Same |
| Day laborer (日々雇用) | No | No |
Ask HR for the work rules (就業規則) and any labor-management agreement; the contact for disputes is the prefectural labor bureau (都道府県労働局). See labor rights for foreign workers.
No. During maternity leave and childcare leave (until the child turns 3), health insurance and employees’ pension premiums are waived for both you and your employer. Your employer files the form with the Japan Pension Service (日本年金機構).
The waived months count as paid when your pension is calculated. If you come back on shorter hours and your pay drops, you can ask to have your pension calculated on your old pay until the child turns 3 (養育期間標準報酬月額特例). Your employer submits that form too. More on how the pension works in Japan’s pension for foreigners.
| From | Change |
|---|---|
| 1 April 2025 | 13% top-up (出生後休業支援給付金) and 10% reduced-hours benefit (育児時短就業給付金) start |
| 1 April 2025 | Stricter daycare test for extending childcare leave pay |
| 1 April 2025 | Child nursing leave (子の看護等休暇) extended to the end of 3rd grade of elementary school, 5 days a year (10 for 2+ children); also for class closures and entrance or graduation ceremonies |
| 1 April 2025 | Right to be excused from overtime extended from under-3s to children before elementary school |
| 1 October 2025 | For children aged 3 to before elementary school, employers must offer at least 2 flexible options (such as later start, telework or 6-hour days); you pick one |
The Immigration Services Agency (出入国在留管理庁) can revoke a work status if you don’t do its activities for 3 months or more, unless you have a legitimate reason (正当な理由). Its page gives no examples and doesn’t mention maternity or childcare leave.
Registering the baby is covered in baby born in Japan to foreign parents.
More guides: giving birth in Japan · daycare (保育園) · child allowance · labor rights for foreign workers · Dependent visa
You can take leave from 6 weeks before the due date (14 weeks for twins or more), and your employer must not let you work for 8 weeks after the birth. From week 6 after the birth you may go back early if you ask and a doctor agrees. Childcare leave can follow until your child turns 1.
Company health insurance pays a maternity allowance of two-thirds of your standard daily pay for the leave period. Childcare leave pay from employment insurance is 67% of your pre-leave daily wage for the first 180 days and 50% after that, with a cap of ¥332,454 a month at 67% as of October 2026.
Yes. The laws have no nationality condition. What counts is your job: you need to be an employee, in company health insurance for the maternity allowance and in employment insurance for childcare leave pay. Fixed-term workers qualify unless it is clear their contract will end before the child is 1 year 6 months old.
Fathers can take post-birth childcare leave (産後パパ育休) of up to 28 days within 8 weeks of the birth, in up to 2 parts, plus regular childcare leave until the child turns 1. Pay is 67%, and 14 days or more can add a 13% top-up for up to 28 days.
The health ministry runs an online simulator for childcare leave benefits at shussan.ikukyu-simu.mhlw.go.jp. It is in Japanese. Your exact amount is decided by Hello Work for childcare leave pay and by your health insurer for the maternity allowance.
Spotted something out of date or wrong? Email [email protected] and we will check it against the source. See our corrections policy.
Photo by Omar Lopez on Unsplash
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