Japan wants its people to have more kids. The problem is that, if they did, women would end up doing most of the work. Women in Japan have long complained – and statistics have proven – that they do most of the chores in their homes on top of working full-time jobs.
The good news is that a new survey shows that many couples in Japan believe in equality in the household. The bad news is that few households implement it in practice.
The small-scale survey by Minaminippon Shimbun in Kagoshima asked 266 residents via LINE and other venues their opinions on housework and gender balance. A full 78% of respondents said they thought both men and women should bear an equal share of housework. Only 21% said that housework is basically women’s work.
However, when pressed on who actually did the housework, 234 respondents – 88% – said women bore most of the burden.
Over 90% of female respondents also said it was “unfair” that women had to take their husband’s names when getting married. That shows a strong desire for Japan’s government to take action on the issue of separate spousal surnames.
The survey backs up a slightly larger survey by real estate company FLIE in 2023 that showed women did most of the household chores.
A similar survey about childcare in Hiroshima Prefecture went viral the same year when a city in Hiroshima Prefecture ran a survey asking dads what they wanted from new mothers. The top result was continuing to do housework after giving birth. After social media backlash, the city promised to stop running the survey.
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