Although it has been customary at many Japanese companies for women to leave when they have children or become married, an increasing shortage of labor in the country is prompting companies to retain female workers with "new vigor," the Wall Street Journal reports.

According to the Journal, shortly after a birth rate spike from 1947 to 1949, the birth rate in Japan has fallen because of increased contraception access and legalized abortion. Japan's working-age population is projected to drop 15% between 2005 and 2025. Companies are "showering" women with "perks and benefits," such as extended maternity leave; offering contract workers full-time staff positions; opening day-care centers in the workplace; allowing women to work shorter hours until their youngest child graduates from high school; and discount coupons for baby-sitting and housecleaning services, the Journal reports.

According to the Journal, the "change in corporate attitudes is welcome news" to many women in Japan, particularly those who had left the work force to be a full-time homemaker. However, women in Japan hold only 10% of managerial positions, and many Japanese companies still require that workers "put in long hours if they are to be taken seriously," the Journal reports. A recent government survey found that only 23% of women who had a job one year before childbirth had a job 18 months after childbirth.

Shoko Kobayashi, manager of a division promoting women at Mizuho Financial Group's corporate banking unit, said, "It's not difficult to set up a (female-friendly) system, adding, "The hardest part is changing people's mentality. It takes a long time" (Inada, Wall Street Journal, 7/23).