Japan's Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi has announced that he will take paternity leave when his first child is born this month, an unusual step in a country where new fathers rarely take time off from work.
日本环境大臣小泉进次郎宣告，他的第一个孩子本月出世后，他将休陪产假。日本男性很少休陪产假，因而小泉进次郎的决议引发了广泛重视。
Koizumi, who will become the first cabinet minister in the country to commit to such a move, said Wednesday that he had decided to take two weeks of paternity leave in the first three months after his baby's birth after considering how caring for their newborn alone could impact his wife.
小泉进次郎将成为首位休陪产假的日本内阁大臣。他在本周三（1月15日）表明，在考虑到单独照料新生儿对妻子的影响后，他决议在孩子出世后三个月内休两周陪产假。
Although Koizumi, 38, is only taking two weeks off, his decision is significant in Japan despite it having one of the world's most generous time off allowances for new fathers.
虽然38岁的小泉进次郎只休两周假，但他的这一决议在日本含义严重。日本是国际上为新手爸爸们供给度假补贴最多的国家之一。
Under Japanese law, both men and women are entitled to up to one year of leave from work after having a child. Parents are not guaranteed pay from their employer, but are eligible for government benefits while off. But in 2018, only 6.16% of men took paternity leave, according to government data released last year.
依据日本法令，男性和女人都有权在生育后享用最多一年的假日。爸爸妈妈无法从雇主那里领到薪酬，但可在度假日间享用政府福利。但依据日本政府上一年发布的数据，2018年，只要6.16%的男性休陪产假。
The move is also notable as Koizumi — the son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi -- is widely seen as a future prime ministerial candidate.
小泉进次郎是前辅弼小泉纯一郎的儿子，并且被遍及视为未来的辅弼提名人，他的这一决议也引发了重视。
"Honestly speaking, I struggled to work out how I could take a paternity leave, as well as fulfilling my public duty as environment minister," Koizumi said in a meeting with Environment Ministry staff on Wednesday, according to video from Japanese broadcaster TBS. "But we have to change not only the system, but also the atmosphere."
日本东京广播公司的视频显现，小泉进次郎在本周三与日本环境省作业人员的一次会议上说：“说实话，我一直在尽力想办法，既能休陪产假，又能实行作为环境大臣的公共职责。但咱们不只要改动体系，还要改动气氛。”
"My paternity leave is being reported heavily in the news but I hope that (in the future) we will have a society where a politician's paternity leave doesn't make the news."
“新闻许多报导了我休陪产假一事，但我期望（往后）政客休陪产假不会再成为新闻。”
为什么日本男性不休陪产假？
Koizumi indicated last year that he was considering taking paternity leave — and at the time, he was met with criticism, said Yumiko Murakami, the head of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) Tokyo Center.
经济合作与开展安排东京中心负责人村上由美子说，小泉进次郎上一年曾表明他正在考虑休陪产假，但其时遭到了批判。
Generous paternity leave is stipulated by Japanese law, but the country's work culture means many people still don't take it up. According to Murakami, Japan hasn't fully embraced the notion of a work-life balance, and men are not expected to help out at home — and if they do, their loyalty to their workplace is questioned. It's often difficult for female politicians to take time off as well, she said.
日本法令规定的陪产假天数许多，但日本的作业文明意味着许多人依然不愿意休陪产假。据村上由美子介绍，日本还没有彻底承受作业与日子平衡的概念，人们也不期望男性在家里帮助，假如他们这样做了，他们对作业的忠诚度就会遭到质疑。她说，女人政客一般也很难度假。
Men often fear that their careers could be impacted if they take paternity leave.
男性一般忧虑休陪产假会影响作业开展。
Last year, a Japanese man filed a landmark lawsuit, claiming that his employer, sportswear maker Asics, had purposefully sidelined him from his job in sales and marketing following his return from parental leave in 2015 and 2018. Asics has denied the allegations.
上一年，一名日本男性提起了一项具有里程碑含义的诉讼，称他的雇主、运动服装制造商亚瑟士在他于2015年和2018年休完陪产假返岗后，成心让他抛弃出售和市场营销方面的作业。亚瑟士否认了这些指控。
The gender expectations on men also impact women. The most recent World Economic Forum's annual Global Gender Gap Report found women in Japan spend four times more time than men doing unpaid labor like domestic work and household management.
对男性的性别期望也会影响女人。国际经济论坛最近发布的年度《全球性别距离陈述》发现，日本女人从事家务和家庭办理等无偿劳作的时间比男性多四倍。
Koizumi's decision is "interesting" as it comes against a backdrop of a falling birth rate, Murakami said. only three weeks ago, Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare announced that the country had the lowest number of births in 2019 since records began in 1899. The birth rate slipped despite government initiatives to turn the trend around.
村上由美子说，小泉进次郎的决议很“风趣”，由于它是在出世率下降的布景下做出的。就在三周前，日本卫生劳作福利部宣告，该国2019年的新生儿数量为1899年有记载以来的最低水平。虽然政府采纳办法改动这一趋势，出世率仍是下降了。
In a blog published Wednesday, Koizumi pointed to Japan's declining birth rate as a reason why men should take advantage of the paternity leave allocation.
小泉进次郎在本周三宣布的一篇博客中指出，日本不断下降的出世率是男性应该享用陪产假的原因之一。
"(The falling birth rate) is starting to make people think, 'OK whatever we're doing is not really working,'" Murakami said. "It's starting to make people think, 'maybe it's a mindset, maybe it's the culture, maybe it's a work environment in which people are not really, truly encouraged to have babies.'"
村上由美子说：“（出世率的下降）让人们开端以为，‘好吧，不论咱们做什么都没有真实起作用。’这开端让人们考虑，‘也许是心态、文明、或作业环境，这些并没有真实鼓舞人们去生育。’”
创始先例
For now, the reaction from the public has been mixed. Some praised Koizumi's decision, while others argued that he was not aware of his responsibility as a minister or said that his decision was all a show.
现在，大众的反响纷歧。一些人赞扬小泉进次郎的决议，而另一些人则以为他没有意识到自己作为环境大臣的职责，或者说他的决议仅仅噱头。
"Koizumi's leave is short, and people criticize it as only a 'performance'," wrote one. "But such 'performance' is the first step to change society."
有位网友写道：“小泉进次郎的度假很短，人们批判这仅仅‘做秀’。但这是改动社会的第一步。”
In an international context, a man taking two weeks of paternity leave could be considered "pathetic," said Murakami. "It just goes to show how conservative the Japanese society still is, especially in the political space," she said.
村上由美子说，在国际上，男性只休两周陪产假会被以为“很不幸”。她说：“这表明日本社会有多保存，尤其是在政治范畴。”
But she hoped that Koizumi's decision would send a message to the general population, and set a precedent. "(It) lets people know it's OK to do it," she said.
但她期望小泉进次郎的决议能向大众传达一个信息，并创始一个先例。“让我们知道能够这样做”，她说。
"I do think it's a very symbolic, important announcement," she said. "It's very encouraging and hopeful that someone does it in a public way, but at the same time, the flip side is it goes to show you how much work Japan has, how far behind Japan is relative to the rest of the world."
她说：“我以为这是一个十分具有象征含义的、重要的声明。有人揭露这样做是十分令人鼓舞和充满期望的，但与此同时，这也告知了我们日本还有多长的路要走，与国际其他几个国家比较，日本落后了多少。”
