Read the text below.
The Japanese government is looking into an initiative that aims to encourage parents to spend more time with their kids.
“Kids Week” is a family holiday that will be created especially for children. The Education Rebuilding Council is eyeing to set the plan in motion during the 2018 fiscal year, which will start in April next year.
The government believes that such an initiative can be beneficial in several ways. If implemented, it is likely to have a positive effect on children’s growth and even help local tourism and economies.
To make this holiday possible, the government will ask municipalities to schedule long holidays for public elementary, junior high, and high schools. These long holidays will be in addition to the existing summer and winter breaks.
One recommended way to do this is to shorten summer vacations by five days. In exchange, these five days will be transferred to another month. With the addition of two weekends, this will create a nine-day break.
Despite the intentions behind it, the proposal was not received with much enthusiasm. A survey conducted by Yahoo Inc. reveals that out of 170,000 respondents, 66% were not in favor of Kids Week.
One of the reasons why the proposal garnered negative responses was that it did not seem fair to all employees. A professor from Sagami Women’s University said that work-life balance should be for all, and not just for people with children.
Others also believe that making all employees with children take a long holiday at the same time may place a heavy burden on their colleagues who do not have children.