35歲才準生小孩?日本企業規定結婚生育年齡大綱

Japanese workers are being given schedules dictating when they can get married or give birth, it has been revealed.

媒體近日曝出，日本企業給員工制定了結婚或生小孩的時間表。

The disturbing trend first came to light after a nursery worker's husband spoke out to say his wife was being bullied by her boss for getting pregnant 'out of turn'.

這種令人不安的風氣被曝光是因爲最近有一名保育員的丈夫站出來直言，稱自己的妻子因爲“不按順序”懷孕而遭到上司欺凌。

Since then dozens of other women have come forward to share similar stories, with one 26-year-old woman saying she was told to wait until 35 to conceive - despite already suffering from fertility issues.

從那以後，數十名女性分享了相似的經歷，一名26歲的女性表示，按公司規定她必須等到35歲才能懷孕——而她本身就有懷孕困難問題。

The initial complaint came in a letter to newspaper Mainichi Shimbun last month, from the husband of a woman who works at a nursery in Aichi Prefecture.

上個月日本每日新聞社收到了第一封相關的投訴信，這封信是一名在愛知縣託兒所工作的女性的丈夫寫來的。

He wrote: 'Eight months into our marriage, in January of this year, we found out that my wife was pregnant.

他寫道：“結婚八個月後，在今年一月份，我們發現我妻子懷孕了。”

'My wife, who is a child care provider, appeared glum and anxious over the news.

“從事幼兒看護工作的妻子得知消息後，露出憂鬱和焦慮的神色。”

'The director at the child care center where she works had determined the order in which workers could get married or pregnant, and apparently there was an unspoken rule that one must not take their "turn" before a senior staff member.

“她就職的託兒所的所長規定了員工結婚或懷孕的順序，顯然那裏有一條不成文的規定，就是不能比資深員工更早結婚或懷孕。”

'My wife and I went together to apologise. "We're sorry we got pregnant," we said.

“我的妻子和我一起去道歉。我們說：‘對不起，我們懷孕了。’”

'The director grudgingly accepted our apology, but since the next day, has been chiding my wife with harsh words, such as, "How could you so selfishly break the rules?"

“所長不情願地接受了我們的道歉，但從第二天開始，就一直用刻薄的言語指責我的妻子，比如‘你怎麼能這麼自私地破壞規矩？’”

'My wife feels guilty thinking about the hard labor conditions of her colleagues.'

“我妻子想到同事們艱辛的勞動條件就感到內疚。”

While the man admits 'we are at fault for not planning well' he goes on to ask: 'Who benefits from having their "turn" to have children dictated, and following those rules?'

儘管這名男子承認，“我們沒有計劃好，是我們的錯”，但是接下來他發問道：“按順序生小孩和遵守這些規定，是誰受益呢？”

The letter prompted a national outpouring of sympathy and confessions from other workers that they were being forced to live by similar rules.

這封信引發了許多日本國民的同情，還有很多其他職員也坦承自己被迫按類似的規定來生活。

Toko Shirakawa, a journalist who specialises in Japan's low birth rate, said the policy is common in workplaces where the majority of staff are female to make sure the workload is spread evenly.

專門報道日本低生育率的記者Toko Shirakawa說，這種政策在女職員佔多數的公司很常見，目的是確保工作量均勻分配。

In another case, a 26-year-old working at a cosmetics company in the Tokyo suburb of Mitaka said she was sent an email mapping out the marriage and birthing schedule for herself and 22 female colleagues.

在另一個案例中，一名在東京市郊三鷹市的化妝品公司工作的26歲女子表示，她收到了一封電子郵件，裏面規定了自己和其他22名女員工結婚和生育的時間表。

The email also came with a warning that 'work gets backed up if four or more people take time off at the same time. Selfish behavior will be subject to punishment.'

這封電子郵件還警告說：“如果四名以上的員工同時請假，這部分工作量就要落到其他人頭上。自私的行爲會受到懲罰。”

She was then told by a supervisor that she would have to wait until age 35 before getting pregnant, despite suffering from fertility issues.

一名主管告訴她說，她必須等到35歲才能懷孕，儘管自身已經有不孕問題。

'How are they going to take responsibility if I put off getting pregnant and lose my chances to have children altogether?,' she said.

她說：“如果我推遲懷孕，導致自己完全喪失了生育機會，那他們要怎麼負責呢？”

Japan is notorious for its tough working conditions and punishing schedules which have led to some staff dropping dead on the job.

日本因工作條件苛刻和懲罰性的日程安排而臭名昭著，某些員工甚至因此而死在了工作崗位上。

Miwa Sado, 31, a journalist for public broadcaster NHK, died in 2013 from heart failure after logging 159 hours of overtime in a single month.

31歲的Miwa Sado是公共廣播公司NHK的記者，2013年她因爲在一個月內超時工作159個小時，導致心臟衰竭而死。

The country even has a word - karoshi - which means 'death from overwork'.

日本甚至有一個詞專門來形容過勞死——karoshi。

That culture has left precious little time for raising a family and is rapidly causing a population crisis, with fewer babies born last year than at any time since records began in 1899.

這種文化留給養育家庭的時間非常少，並迅速導致了人口危機，去年出生的嬰兒數量降到1899年開始統計以來的最低點。

In turn, that places more pressure on workers as they have to take on increased duties to make up for the declining numbers of staff.

這一現狀轉而向勞動者們施加了更多壓力，因爲他們必須承擔更多職責，才能彌補員工數量下降產生的勞動力不足。

The government has vowed to tackle the problem by raising the fertility rate from its current 1.44 children per woman to 1.8 children per woman by 2025.

政府已承諾要解決這一問題，聲稱要在2025年前把生育率從目前的平均每位女性生育1.44個小孩提高到每位女性1.8個小孩。

Japan now provides free education, has expanded nursery care, and allows fathers to take paternity leave in order to tackle the problem.

爲了解決這一問題，日本現在提供免費教育，增加了托幼服務機構，讓父親們休陪產假。

Local governments have even set up speed-dating services across the country to get people to partner up.

日本各地的地方政府甚至推出了速配服務，讓人們能夠找到伴侶。