Japan's labour crunch forces rethink on traditional homemakers

Japan's labour shortage is forcing its conservative lawmakers to consider overhauling decades-old social welfare rules originally designed to encourage married women to spend more hours looking after the home.

- Makiko Yamazaki, Reuters

Policymakers are expected to pass legislation on Friday that would require part-time workers to pay into pension and health-insurance schemes, essentially scaling back exemptions now seen as a major disincentive for women to work longer hours or advance their careers.

Introduced in 1986 during Japan's economic boom, the exemptions apply to “dependent” spouses who earn less than 1.3 million yen ($9,028) a year, as part of an expansion of social welfare at the time. While the proposed reforms are aimed at easing a current workers crunch in Japan, they would not completely scrap a system that many argue is both unproductive and a product of outdated gender expectations.