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Good practice Imported

Japan's Seiri-Kyūka Menstrual Leave (1947–present) — Nearly 80 Years of Statutory Right, Under 10% Take-Up

Japan · Tokyo · See the Japan profile · See the Tokyo profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 80% 37/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Japan's Labour Standards Act has guaranteed menstrual leave since 1947, one of the world's longest-running such laws — yet nationwide surveys report under 10% (in some years under 2%) of eligible women actually use it, and as of 2020 only around 30% of employers paid for it.

<10 %
Working women taking menstrual leave
0.9–1.9 %
Menstrual leave utilisation in some years
~30 %
Large companies offering full or partial pay during leave (2020)
~25 %
Smaller firms offering full or partial pay during leave (2020)
Japan's Seiri-Kyūka Menstrual Leave (1947–present) — Nearly 80 Years of Statutory Right, Under 10% Take-Up

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Japan) / 厚生労働省
Period
1947–present
Keywords
labour law, workplace policy, public health, gender equality

Context

Article 68 of Japan's 1947 Labour Standards Act entitles female employees to take leave when work is markedly difficult due to menstruation. Unlike Spain's 2023 law, no doctor's certificate is required, but the law does not mandate that the leave be paid.

Results

A 2020 survey found that only around 30% of large companies (1,000+ employees) offered full or partial salary during this leave, dropping to roughly 25% among smaller firms. A Nikkei BP Intelligence Group survey of 1,956 working women found that fewer than 10% actually take the leave, and other national surveys have recorded utilisation as low as 0.9–1.9% in some years. Cited reasons for non-use include male-dominated management culture, discomfort disclosing menstrual reasons for absence, and the lack of a guaranteed pay.

Conclusions

Evidoria's evaluation notes that nearly 80 years after enactment, a bare legal entitlement without a pay guarantee or active destigmatisation tends to produce persistently low real-world utilisation.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Low (< €50k)
Time to results
Long (> 3 years)

Conditions for success

  • Guaranteed pay during leave — currently only around 30% of large firms (1,000+ employees) and roughly 25% of smaller firms offer full or partial salary
  • Active destigmatisation of menstrual-related absence, given cited discomfort disclosing the reason for leave
  • Workplace cultures less dominated by male management, cited as a barrier to uptake

Common failure modes

  • No mandated pay for the leave, which correlates with low real-world take-up
  • Stigma around disclosing menstrual reasons for absence discourages use
  • Male-dominated management culture discourages employees from taking the leave

Where it fits

Governance type
national statutory entitlement
Scale
national
Income level
high-income

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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