<p>Japan’s biggest and most austere banking group, Mitsubishi UFJ, is telling its staff to knock off early. In a round-robin e-mail for its employees, the bank said the national birthrate is low, so let’s all enjoy “family time”. <br /><br />“The company is constantly telling us to do things, but I think this is the first time the corporate agenda has made its way to the bedroom,” a woman, who works on the bank’s Tokyo trading floor, was quoted as saying by The Times on Thursday. <br />“I’m not sure how many more babies will be conceived this week, but the bar next door to the headquarters should do well,” she added.<br />The management’s idea, the woman said, seemed to be that by getting everyone out of the office by 5.10 pm, rather than the 7 pm that most staff were used to, couples would be reunited earlier after work.<br /><br />At only 1.3 per cent in 2007, Japan’s fertility rate is among the lowest in the world. <br /></p>
<p>Japan’s biggest and most austere banking group, Mitsubishi UFJ, is telling its staff to knock off early. In a round-robin e-mail for its employees, the bank said the national birthrate is low, so let’s all enjoy “family time”. <br /><br />“The company is constantly telling us to do things, but I think this is the first time the corporate agenda has made its way to the bedroom,” a woman, who works on the bank’s Tokyo trading floor, was quoted as saying by The Times on Thursday. <br />“I’m not sure how many more babies will be conceived this week, but the bar next door to the headquarters should do well,” she added.<br />The management’s idea, the woman said, seemed to be that by getting everyone out of the office by 5.10 pm, rather than the 7 pm that most staff were used to, couples would be reunited earlier after work.<br /><br />At only 1.3 per cent in 2007, Japan’s fertility rate is among the lowest in the world. <br /></p>