Seminar
Accepting reservations
Work-Life Balance and Career Considerations During Parenting for Male Staff
- Date and time
- 2026/3/5 (Thu.) 13:00-14:00
(Reception starts at 12:50)
- Modality
- Zoom Webinar
- Lecturer
Mr. Takuma Mitobe (Director, Fathering Japan Hokkaido)
- Target
- Faculty and staff members at higher education institutions
- Entry fee
- Free
- Language
- Japanese
- Category
- E: Management
- Remarks
- On-demand streaming available (accessible to faculty and staff of Hokkaido University and member institutions of the Hokkaido FD/SD Council)
- Poster
- View poster
Organized by Center for Teaching and Learning, IAGE, Hokkaido University and Hokkaido FD/SD Council
In recent years, the ways in which people engage in childcare and family life have diversified, and even among university staff, there is a demand for flexible working styles and a re-evaluation of roles according to life stages. Particularly among male staff, while systems such as parental leave and reduced working hours have been established, there is a current situation where they are not sufficiently utilized due to the complexity of the systems, workplace atmosphere, and concerns about the impact on future careers.
This seminar is intended to provide male staff with the opportunity to reconsider their engagement with work, family, and society (Work, Life, Social) from the perspective of their own life stages (marriage, childbirth, childcare, caregiving, etc.). It will not only raise awareness of the systems but also offer a chance to think about the redesign of work-life balance according to their own values and circumstances. As the ways of engaging in childcare and family life diversify, work-life balance is an important and relevant theme for male staff as well.
Additionally, this seminar will touch upon the concepts of parental leave and support systems, while providing a perspective that considers working styles that are not limited to a simple choice of "take it or not." It is recommended for a wide range of male staff, from those in preparatory stages looking towards the future to those currently facing work-life balance challenges.
Mr, Takuma Mitobe
Born in Tomakomai City in 1986, he has built his career in sales and planning at a food manufacturer and currently serves as a section manager responsible for human resource development, team building, and business operations. As a father of two, he took eight weeks of paternity leave when his first son was born in 2021, experiencing firsthand the importance of male participation in childcare.
As a side business, he is involved in two regional activities aimed at revitalizing his home region of Hokkaido: ① He serves as a board member of NPO Fathering Japan Hokkaido, engaging awareness-raising activities, event planning, and lecturing on promoting fathers' participation in housework and childcare. ② As Community Manager of the volunteer community “ONE HOKKAIDO,” he promotes initiatives that enable working professionals from diverse backgrounds to engage with regional issues.
Through these activities, he has strongly recognized the lag in male participation in family life in Hokkaido and the need for awareness reform in both corporate and regional contexts. By combining his own practical experience with his knowledge of organizational management, he aims to connect individual transformations in awareness to changes across organizations and communities.
He continues his activities with the belief that increasing the number of fathers who positively embrace a balance between family and work will contribute to the region’s sustained vitality.
Recommended for those who:
・Men who are expected to redesign their work-life balance due to marriage or childbirth in the near future (pre-phase) or their partners
・Men who are currently facing the challenge of balancing work and family due to childcare or caregiving (now-phase) or their partners
・Managers and mid-level staff who want to deepen their understanding of colleagues' life events
This program focuses on:
1. To perceive childcare and work-life balance support systems not as "knowledge" but as "one's own options."
2. To cultivate perspectives on work styles and career development based on life stages.
3. To raise awareness of communication in both home and workplace, leading to the cultivation of an organizational culture that
supports work-life balance.
