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

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.”

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.

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.

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

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

“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.

“My wife and I went together to apologize,” he said.

“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?’”

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

Toko Shirakawa, a journalist who specializes 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.

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.

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.”

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

(SD-Agencies)