Miyagi Gov. Yoshihiro Murai has unveiled plans to expand the option for a four-day workweek to all prefectural employees from fiscal 2026, marking the first initiative of its kind in the Tohoku region.

The program aims to reduce rising turnover and attract more applicants to government roles in Miyagi, the prefecture said.

Currently, Miyagi prefectural employees work the standard 38 hours and 45 minutes per week, with 7-hour 45-minute shifts from Monday to Friday. Under the new plan, employees will be allowed to offset hours over four days to take a three-day weekend, pending approval from their supervisors.

This option, previously restricted to those with child care or elderly care duties, will soon be available to all government employees in Miyagi.

¡°I want people to view Miyagi Prefecture as an exceptional workplace that evolves with the times and as an attractive place to work,¡± Murai told reporters Tuesday.

Miyagi is also exploring other policies to increase retention and flexibility, including a ¡°comeback program¡± for rehiring former employees, and early recruitment initiatives to make the application process easier for university students also applying to private companies. The prefecture also plans to provide laptops and desktop tools for work-from-home arrangements. The prefecture also seeks to ensure 100% parental leave uptake among male employees and is reviewing wage increases for younger staff.

Although the prefecture¡¯s initiative is the first of its kind in Tohoku, similar moves are underway across Japan. Ibaraki Prefecture introduced a selective four-day workweek in April, making the option available to all employees except teachers and shift workers in a move to support child care, elder care, and re-skilling. Ibaraki Gov. Kazuhiko Oigawa said he aims to establish a ¡°model workplace for new ways of working.¡±

In June, Chiba Prefecture extended the four-day workweek to all employees under the governor¡¯s office. Chiba¡¯s personnel division expressed optimism that the policy will ¡°enable diverse lifestyles.¡±

The city of Kuji in Iwate Prefecture launched a trial four-day workweek in May, planning for full adoption in 2025 after a nearly 50% drop in applicants compared to the previous year for the 2023 hiring exams. Kuji hopes the move will make it a more attractive employer.

However, a four-day workweek isn¡¯t without challenges, with some worrying the shortened workweeks could disrupt operations and hurt employee productivity. In March, Akita Gov. Norihisa Satake stated that introducing a four-day workweek for Akita prefectural employees would be tricky, due to high workloads and emphasized first addressing employees¡¯ use of annual paid leave.