Company sends Japanese workers home early to make babies

From Kyung Lah
CNN

TOKYO, Japan (CNN) - Even before one reaches the front door of Canon's
headquarters in Tokyo, one can hear it: a virtual stampede of employees pouring
out of the building exactly at 5:30 p.m.

In a country where 12-hour workdays are common, the electronics
manufacturer has taken to letting its employees leave early twice a week for a
rather unusual reason: to encourage employees to have more babies.

"Canon has a very strong birth planning program," says Canon spokesman Hiroshi Yoshinaga. "Sending workers home early to be with their families is a part of it."

Japan in the midst of an unprecedented recession, so corporations are being asked to work toward fixing another major problem: the country's low
birthrate.

At 1.34, the birthday is well below the 2.0 needed to maintain Japan's
population, according to the country's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.