Making Maternity and Parental Leave the Norm: Honest Voices from Working Moms and Dads

I was really anxious…! It just so happened that my transfer from an OFC role to the Okinawa Regional Product Department overlapped with the timing of my parental leave, so I ended up taking leave during my training period. After returning, I think it would have been extremely difficult without the support of my colleagues.

When there’s no precedent, it really takes courage to apply, doesn’t it?

For women, it’s common to move naturally from maternity leave into parental leave, so for me personally, it didn’t really feel like making a special decision.

Of course, I did feel some anxiety and impatience about returning to work. But parental leave is also a precious time to spend closely with your child. That’s why I believe it’s important to cherish this period as something irreplaceable.

Time spent with your children is so important, isn’t it… I have four kids, but the first time I ever took parental leave was when my youngest was born. Until then, my wife had been raising them almost entirely on her own. I still feel sorry toward both my wife and my children for that.

Taking parental leave this time really made me realize just how much there is to do. From putting the baby back to sleep after feedings, to preparing meals three times a day, cleaning and laundry, even handling school matters for the older kids. I couldn’t help but respect my wife for managing all of this on her own until now.

And as both of you mentioned, above all, a child’s smile is the best. I feel like I’ve been able to rediscover the joys of parenting.

I currently have two children, but when my first was born, it was right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though opportunities to interact with others were very limited, I was able to manage childcare with advice and support from my mother and sister.

What was personally tough for me was that, because of the pandemic, I had almost no chance to go out or connect with people outside my family.

When children are little, you often need to take sudden days off. In my team, under the principle of "don’t shoulder everything alone," we adjust our work together each day to keep things running smoothly. I also make a point of sharing my progress regularly to minimize any disruption to the work.

I feel this approach goes beyond just our team. With the backdrop of COVID-19—where it wasn’t unusual for anyone to suddenly be absent—a culture of truly "working as an organization" has started to take root across the entire workplace.

My situation was a little different from everyone else’s. Since I took parental leave right after being assigned to Okinawa, I didn’t really know my colleagues yet, and I wasn’t very familiar with the work either. Honestly, I felt a bit down.

But on my very first day back, everyone in the department organized a lunch gathering at a café. I felt they really wanted to help me settle in quickly. I’ll never forget the taste of the chocolate banana pancakes I had that day.

It sounds like Eguchi has been able to relax in a good way. As for me, I’ve become more conscious of how I use my time. Within shorter working hours, I try to eliminate waste and work more efficiently, even making use of AI. My sense of gratitude toward my team has also grown stronger.

Just as I’ve been supported until now, I feel it’s now my turn to support everyone on the team.

What I realized is that taking parental leave is also a choice about how you want to live your life. To be honest, I hesitated this time as well. But when my wife said, "It’s okay if you don’t take leave, but I’d be happy if you were with us," it struck me. I realized I’d been prioritizing work and hadn’t really thought about what I wanted.
I’ve learned that parental leave isn’t just "for someone else"—it’s also something you choose as part of deciding how you want to live.

That said… once I actually took it, it was way tougher than I imagined. It felt less like a break and more like "full-time childcare." Honestly, I think we should change the name from parental leave!

I often hear people say that "returning from parental leave feels like being Urashima Tarō*." For women in particular, since parental leave can often be long, many end up feeling anxious, wondering, "Am I really still needed in society?"

It would be reassuring if there were systems that allowed employees to stay loosely connected to the company during leave, as well as spaces where those who have experienced parental leave could easily consult with one another.

I believe government support is also essential. If an environment were in place where anyone could take as much parental leave as they wished, regardless of their role or position, society as a whole would surely become a better, more flexible place to work and live.

Each person’s experience with parental leave is different. But the feelings and insights gained during that time will no doubt influence the way we work and live in the future. That’s what this discussion made me realize.