MHLW to hold the Subcommittee on Employment Environment and Equal Treatment on October 26; the agenda is "support for balancing work and childcare" (not yet decided)A government meeting on "balancing work and raising children" will be held on October 26
On October 19, 2026 (Reiwa 8), the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced that the 93rd Subcommittee on Employment Environment and Equal Treatment of the Labour Policy Council will be held on Monday, October 26, 2026 from 10:00 to 12:00. There is a single agenda item: "support for balancing work and childcare". The Labour Policy Council is where reviews of labour legislation are discussed, but what was published this time is a meeting notice, and it does not state what will change or how. Applications to observe close at noon on October 23.
- October 19, 2026MHLW published the notice for the 93rd subcommittee meeting
- Noon, October 23, 2026Deadline for applying to observe (only a small number of seats)
- October 26, 2026, 10:00-12:00The subcommittee meets. The agenda is "support for balancing work and childcare"
Key points
- Published on October 19, 2026. The meeting is on Monday, October 26, 2026, from 10:00 to 12:00
- The meeting is the "93rd Subcommittee on Employment Environment and Equal Treatment of the Labour Policy Council". The venue is the Labour Relations Commission Hall (Tokyo)
- There is a single agenda item: "support for balancing work and childcare"
- Because it is a paperless meeting, no paper materials are handed out. Observers need to bring their own device or view the materials online (there is no wireless LAN at the venue)
- Only a small number of observer seats are available, and applications close at noon on October 23, 2026. Photo identification and the confirmation email are required at entry
What to do in practice
- Follow the direction of the discussion on support for balancing work and childcare, either by observing or through the published materials
- If you want to observe, apply by noon on October 23 (only a small number of seats are available)
There is a government meeting about how companies should support people who work while raising children. On October 19, 2026, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced that this meeting would be held from 10 in the morning on October 26. There is only one topic: "support for balancing work and childcare". What will change has not been decided yet.
- ○Applies: The day of the meeting (October 26) has been decided
- ○Applies: The topic has been set as "support for balancing work and childcare"
- ×Does not apply: It has been decided that the rules about working will change
Points
- The notice came out on October 19, 2026. The meeting is from 10 in the morning on October 26
- The topic is "how to support people so they can do their job and raise children at the same time"
- It is only a discussion so far; it has not been decided that any rule will change
What the words mean
- Labour Policy Council
- A government body that discusses how the rules about working should change
- work-life support
- Help from the company or the government so that someone can keep doing their job and raising children at the same time
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW): MHLW: The 93rd Subcommittee on Employment Environment and Equal Treatment of the Labour Policy Council (paperless meeting) will be held (meeting notice)
This article previews items that are still under consideration or only requested. Whether they will be adopted, and whether the content or timing will change, is not final. Please check the official source again once a decision is made.
This article summarizes and explains materials published by government agencies and is not advice on any individual case. Rules can change, so for actual procedures and decisions always check the latest original materials and consult professionals such as tax accountants or labor and social security attorneys. English, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese versions are translations prepared from the Japanese articles for convenience. If anything differs, the Japanese text and the original source take precedence.