Pet allowances given to employees of a Japanese firm

A Japanese company is offering its employees a monthly "pet allowance" to help with the upkeep of their cats and dogs. Kyoritsu Seiyaku, which makes animal medicines, said pets were a lifelong obligation for their owners. Kyoritsu Seiyaku is offering its pet-owning employees about $9 (£4.70) per month, and hopes the system will spread to other Japanese firms. The company does not, however, offer paid leave when employees' pets die. "For now, we have introduced only the allowances, but we want to consider the condolence holiday system in future," a spokeswoman for Kyoritsu Seiyaku said.