TOKYO >> For the first time, working mothers in Japan in 2021 comprised more than 75% of the country’s population of moms, according to a Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry survey.

According to the 2021 Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions, the percentage of mothers with children younger than 18 who said they were employed stood at a record high of 75.9%, up 3.5 percentage points from 2019.

The percentage of moms in child-­ rearing households working full time increased 3.4 percentage points from the previous survey to 29.6%. The jump was attributed to the expansion of child care services.

The percentage of mothers in nonregular employment decreased 0.5 percentage point to 37.3%.

Meanwhile, 24.1% of mothers did not work outside of the home. The survey found 39.8% of mothers in households with babies under 12 months of age, 35.1% of mothers in households with 1-year-olds and 35.6% of mothers in households with 2-year-olds were not employed.

The survey was conducted in June 2021 and included about 63,000 households nationwide. Sixty-eight percent of them, or about 43,000 households, responded.

The survey was last conducted in 2019; the 2020 survey was canceled because of the pandemic.