The 2nd Survey of Japanese Family Households Report

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Introduction
Relationships with parents
Relationships between generations
Sharing of family responsibilities between husband and wife
Communication between husband and wife
Balancing time between work and famil
Attitudes of married women to the family

Department of Population Structure Research

11Introduction

Overview

Japanese families have changed in many ways in recent years. Changes in demographic
characteristics which include the aging of the population and the declining birth rate, a growth in the
proportion of single households or households married-couple-only, as well as an increase in the labor
force participation rate for married women, are considered to be some of the contributing factors tothese changes. These changes in families have some impacts on fertility patterns and child rearing,along with the problems related to a rise in the proportion of the elderly who need special care, andthey are beginning to take their toll on the Japanese society as a whole. In the face of anever-increasing elderly population, it is becoming more and more important to get the complete
picture of the factors behind these changes in the family functions. In this context, the National
Institute of Population and Social Security Research conducted the Second National Survey on Familyin Japan in June 1998, following the First survey in 1993. The survey includes questionnaires such as
fertility, child rearing, conditions of the elderly who need special care, relationships between family
members, and attitudes toward the family.
2

Survey Method

The main respondents of the survey are married women (wives) in all households in Japan. Whenhouseholds include no married women, the heads of the houses were requested to fill out thequestionnaires in these cases. 300 localities were randomly selected from 5,240 localities that had
been selected as a stratified sample for the Kokumin Seikatsu Kiso Chosa in 1998.
Out of all 13,630 cases, 12,398 completed questionnaires that is, 91.0 percent of all. After excluding
questionnaires that did not answer important questions on the form (those responses were 447), the 12,434 cases (87.7 percent of all) were for analysis and estimations. In general, individuals withdifferent marital statuses are considered to have different attitudes to the institution of family. For
this reason, we divided women into four categories of married, unmarried, divorced, and widowed.
The analysis of this report is based on the responses from married women in 1998 (8,186 people). In
case one household contained more than one
married women, we chose the youngest
Table 1 Sample Size of The Survey
married womenin households (7,578
Number of the sample
Age of married women(1)(2)
people) as we did in 1993.
29 years old and under
30 to 34 years old
35 to 39 years old
40 to 44 years old
45 to 49 years old
50 to 54 years old
55 to 59 years old
60 years old and over615 ( 7.5%)
769 ( 9.4 )
886 ( 10.8 )
989 ( 12.1 )1,145 ( 14.0 )974 ( 11.9 )
839 ( 10.2 )1,969 ( 24.1 )615 ( 8.1%)
769 ( 10.1 )
886 ( 11.7 )
987 ( 13.0 )
1,134 ( 15.0 )945 ( 12.5 )
767 ( 10.1 )1,475 ( 19.5 )Total
8,186 (100.0 ) 7,578 (100.0 )Note (1) All Married women(2) the youngest married women in households

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2
1

Living arrangements with parents

Parents as human resources for child rearing

Among married women 39 years and under, the majority had at least one of their mothers or
their mothers-in-law alive.
In general, parents and parents-in-law of married women with young children are thought to be themost likely candidates for helping them look after their children. With the purpose of looking at theavailability of help in rearing children, we asked married women in their reproductive lives (married
women under the age of 49) about the existence of their parents and parents-in-law. Among married
women 39 years and under, 90 percent had both of their own mothers and their mothers-in-law present.
Among married women 44 years and under, about 100 percent had either of their own mothers or theirmothers-in-law alive. The proportion of married women whose mothers or mothers-in-law are alive
increased slightly compared with those from the previous survey in 1993.
Table 2 The proportion of married women who had their parents (parents-in-law) alive
Total
Own parents
Parents-in-law
Either own mothers or mothers-in-law
population Fathers Mothers Fathers-in-law Mothers-in-law The 1998 Survey The 1993 Survey
29 years old and under
615 88.1%
96.2%
88.5%
96.1%
99.8%
99.3%
30 to 34 years old
769
84.1
93.9
80.5
92.2
99.9
99.4
35 to 39 years old
886
74.8
91.8
72.3
88.0
98.3
97.8
40 to 44 years old
987
64.2
85.6
56.7
81.5
97.6
95.0
45 to 49 years old
1,134
44.5
73.0
37.1
71.4
91.5
84.3
Age of married women

Although living separately from their parents and parents-in-law was the most common type ofliving arrangement among married women, the proportion of married women 45 to 49 years old
who lived either with their parents or with their parents-in-law increased at the same time.
The proportion of married women who lived with their mothers or mothers-in-law, as well as thepercentage share of married women who lived with at least one of their parents or parents-in-law,increased with age, followed by a decline among those 45 to 49 years old. On the contrary, theproportion of married women who lived separately from their parents and parents-in-law declinedwith age, peaking at more than 80 percent among those in their twenties. The proportion of married
women 40 to 44 years old who lived separately from their parents and parents-in-law increased,compared to the estimates from the previous survey. Although the proportion of married women
who lived with their parents or parents-in-law peaked at the age group of 35 to 39 year old in 1994, it
peaked among those 40 to 44 years old in 1998. The proportion of married women aged 45 to 49
years old who lived with parents or parents-in-law was lower than that of those 40 to 44 years old, but
the proportion increased among this age group between 1993 and 1998. It should be noted thatmost of these people lived with their parents or parents-in-law not because they needed support inraising children, but because their parents or parents-in-law needed caretakers.

Table 3 The proportion of married women who lived with their parents/parents-in-law by age group
Lived with
Lived either with
Lived with at least
Lived apart from
Total
Lived with their
their parents- their own mothers or one of their parents their parents and parents-in-law
population own parents
in-lawwith mothers-in-law and parents-in-law The 1998 Survey The 1993 Survey
29 years old and under
615
3.7%
13.5%
16.1%
17.2%
82.8%
78.2%
30 to 34 years old
769
4.5
16.9
18.4
20.8
79.2
68.6
35 to 39 years old
886
6.3
21.2
23.5
26.0
74.0
64.9
40 to 44 years old
987
7.9
27.3
29.1
31.5
68.5
67.6
45 to 49 years old
1,134
8.8
28.7
28.5
30.4
69.6
70.5
Age of married women3Less than 20 percent of married women who lived in regions with high population density lived
with their parents or parents-in-law. However, rural areas with low population density
experienced a decline in the proportion of those who lived with parents or parents-in-law as well,though the proportion of co-residence with their parents in rural area was higher than the one incities.
In looking at variations in living arrangements between different parts of the country, married womenin rural areas were more likely to live with their parents-in-law than their counterparts in cities.
More than 40 percent of married women in rural areas were lived either with their own parents or with
their parents-in-law, whereas only 20 percent of the same population in cities did so. Althoughmarried women in different areas did have different kinds of relationships with theirparents/parents-in-law, the proportion of those who lived with parents/parents-in-law declined not onlyin cities but also in rural areas. A more rapid decline was witnessed in rural areas than in cities.
Table 4 The proportion of married women who lived with parents or parents-in-law by age and area
Age of married
women
Nationwide
Areas with low
population density
Areas with highpopulation density

4,115
1,475

Lived with
Lived either with
Lived with at least
Lived apart fromtheir parents- their own mothers or one of their parents their parents and parents-in-law
in-lawwith mothers-in-law and parents-in-law The 1998 Survey The 1993 Survey
6.5%
22.2%
24.0%
26.2%
73.8%
69.4%
10.3
35.2
38.4
41.6
58.4
53.2

2,640

4.3

Total
Lived with their
population own parents

14.9

16.0

17.5

82.5

Younger married women were more likely to live close to their parents or parents-in-law thantheir older counterparts.
Generally, those who live close to their parents tend to receive more support from their parents thanthose who live far from their parents. Although young married women were more likely to live inseparate households from their parents/parents-in-law than their older counterparts, they were more
likely to live close to their parent or parents-in-law than older generation. More than 40 percent ofmarried women aged 34 years and under who lived in separate households from their parents orparents-in-law lived within 15 minutes from their parents or parents-in-law, when those lived indifferent houses on the same property as their parents’ or parents’-in-law were included. The
proportion of married women who lived more than 60-minutes far from their parents or parents-in-law
increased as they aged. Overall, it was observed that young married women were likely to live close
to their parents or parents-in-law, even when they lived separately from their parents or parents-in-law.
The proportion of married women who lived separately but within a 15- or 30-minute apart from theirparents/parents-in-law were found more in rural areas. 50 percent of those in rural areas lived within
30 minutes from both their parents and their parents-in-law, and 70 percent lived within 30 minutes
from either their parents or their parents-in-law, even among those who lived separately from theirparents. In areas with high population density, approximately one third of those who lived separatelyfrom their parents/parents-in-law lived within 30 minutes from both their mothers and theirmothers-in-law, and about half of them lived within 30 minutes from either their mothers or theirmothers-in-law. Married women in areas with high population density were less likely to havephysical support from their parents or parents-in-law than their counterparts in rural areas, as can beobserved from the lower proportions of those who lived with their parents or parents-in-law and of
those who lived close to their parents or parents-in-law

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78.5

Table 5 Distance from parents in separate households, by age group
Total
Lived in different houses Within
WithinWithinMore than
population on the same property
15-minutes 30-minutes 60-minutes 60-minutes
29 years old and under
436
3.9%
43.1%
22.7%
13.5%
16.7%
30 to 34 years old
516
7.2
32.9
21.3
14.3
24.2
35 to 39 years old
516
5.7
27.1
22.5
13.4
31.4
40 to 44 years old
465
7.9
27.6
20.0
12.0
32.5
45 to 49 years old
381
5.3
26.5
16.5
13.7
38.1
Age of married women2

Living arrangements of parents in separate households

Living arrangements of parents in separate households were different depending on the age ofmarried women.
Parents of young married women in separate households were most likely to live with their unmarried
children. Among the same population, those who lived alone with their spouses represented thesecond largest proportion. As married women aged, the proportion of their parents who lived with
their other married children, as well as the percentage share of those who lived alone, increased. In
general, as married women age, the living arrangements of their parents changed. However, theproportion of those parents of married women who lived with their other married children decreased
between 1993 and 1998, increasing the percentage share of those who lived with their unmarried
children instead. The overall proportion of those who lived alone or lived with only their spouses
increased as well, but about half of all mothers of married women 49 years and under lived with theirunmarried children. It would reflect the trend in delaying marriage and childbirth among young adults.
Married women whose parents live with their unmarried children are less likely to have immediate
support from their mothers.
5Those married women who lived apart from their parents were likely not to take care of theirparents in need of special care.
Six to eight percent of parents who lived separately from their children needed special care. 1
percent of those who need special care could not do anything at all without help from others. In thiscontext, about 10 percent of married women who lived separately from their parents or parents-in-law
were involved in caring for their parents or parents-in-law at least to some extent, although those who
took care of their fathers-in-law accounted for the smallest proportion. In any case, married women
who lived in separate households from their parents were likely not to be the primary person to takecare of their parents in need of special care. However, one out of every three married women in
separate households from their parents or parents-in-law assumed the role of secondary caretakers of
their own parents, whereas those who provided secondary care to their mothers-in-law, as well as
those who looked after their fathers-in-law as secondary caretakers; their proportion are just above 10
percent and about 20 percent, respectively. Then, who were the primary caretakers? When theirown fathers needed special care, it was most likely that their mothers were the primary caretakers ofthem (50 percent), followed by the wives of their brothers (10 percent) and their own sisters (10percent).
When their own mothers needed special care, there was a 20 percent chance the primary caretakers
were their own fathers (the spouses of their own mothers). However, when their mothers-in-law
needed special care, the chance that their fathers-in-law was to be the primary caretakers was only 10
percent. In case their mothers or mothers-in-law needed special care, their fathers or fathers-in-law,their sister or sisters-in-law, their brother or brothers-in-law, other relatives, along with themselves,
were involved in the caring of those mothers or mothers-in-law. It was rarely the case that
non-family members such as social workers were involved in the care of their parents orparents-in-law.

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3
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Relationships between generations

Grown-up children of married womenAmong all grown-up children aged 25 to 49 years old, 30 percent of men, compared with 40
percent of women, were getting economic support from their parents in 1998.
Delays in marriage and a rise in the proportion of unmarried adults could make different relationships
between grown-up children and their parents. We asked married women what kind of relationships
they had with their grown-up children.
Among unmarried children, women had more conversations with their parents than men. Three outof every four unmarried women talked to their parents every day, while 60 percent of unmarried men
spoke with their parents every day. Those who talked to their parents only once or twice a monthconsisted 20 percent of unmarried men. On the contrary, among married children, those who talked
to their parents everyday, are more likely to be men than women. Married male children talked totheir parents 3 to 4 times a week on average, while married female children spoke to their parents once
to twice a week on average. Although a sizable proportion of married daughters lived with theirparents-in-law, as reflected in the larger proportion of married sons who talked to their own parents
every day, grown-up daughters tended to have very close relationships with their own mothers.
Table 6 Communication with grown-up children, by frequency, marital status, sex and age group
Marital status

Total

of grown-up children
population
Unmarried Sons
1,488
24 years and under
665
25 to 29 years old
503
30 to 49 years old
320
Daughters
1,174
24 years and under
593
25 to 29 years old
376
30 to 49 years old
205
MarriedSons
733
29 years old and under240
30 to 39 years old
298
40 to 49 years old
195
Daughters
1,167
29 years old and under302
30 to 39 years old
583
40 to 49 years old
282

Once toRarelya weektwice a week twice a month
60.9%
6.0%
9.1%
18.5% 5.5%
62.4
5.4
10.1
18.6
3.5
60.2
6.0
9.9
18.7
5.2
58.8
7.2
5.9
17.8
10.3
75.6
6.1
9.8
6.7
1.7
76.4
6.2
9.9
6.4
1.0
75.8
5.9
9.6
6.9
1.9
73.2
6.3
9.8
7.3
3.4
35.7
10.0
22.5
26.2
5.6
22.9
11.3
31.7
27.9
6.3
37.2
11.1
20.5
27.5
3.7
49.2
6.7
14.4
22.1
7.7
20.3
21.1
30.4
23.2
5.0
23.2
26.5
30.1
17.5
2.6
19.7
20.9
32.8
22.3
4.3
18.4
15.6
25.9
31.2
8.9

Everyday

3 to 4 times Once to

A large proportion of unmarried children in their early or mature adulthood were looked after by theirparents. For example, more than 70 percent of unmarried grown-up daughters were taken care of by
their parents. The proportion of grown-up children who sought the advice of their mothers about
their worries was larger for women then for men by 30 percent. Economic support from parents wasgiven to 40 percent of unmarried grown-up daughters, as well as to 30 percent of unmarried grown-up
sons. Even among those in their thirties, 15 percent of sons and a little less than 20 percent ofdaughters received economic assistance from their parents. On the other hand, married daughters
were likely to receive their parents’ support in other forms. For instance, 70 percent of married
women received help from their parents at their childbirth and child rearing. Daughters were likely
have close relationships with their mothers throughout their lives, for almost all occasions, and theirmothers continued to be an important source of support for most of married daughters before and after
their marriage. Overall, as much as 45 percent of grown-up children received economic assistancefrom their parents, though the proportion declined among men as they aged. Whereas economic
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assistance was the most common type of support grown-up sons received from their parents, grown-up
daughters were likely to receive more of physical (help in child rearing) and psychological(advice on
their worries) support.
Table 7 Kinds of support given to grown-up children, by their marital status, sex and age.
Grown-up
Total
Looking
Helping childbirth of children
Taking care them Advice
Economic
No support
children by type
population after them and taking care of grandchildren during illness
on problems support
Unmarrie Sons
2,011
51.8%
0.6%
11.8%
12.3%
29.7%
8.2%
24 years and under
964
50.9
0.8
13.4
13.8
40.9
5.6
25 to 29 years old
646
52.9
0.5
10.8
11.9
22.0
9.6
30 to 49 years old
401
51.9
0.5
9.7
9.2
15.2
12.2
Daughters
1,185
73.1
1.4
18.1
30.5
39.8
8.4
24 years and under
677
72.7
0.9
18.9
32.2
49.6
5.5
25 to 29 years old
334
79.9
1.5
16.8
29.6
30.5
8.1
30 to 49 years old
174
61.5
2.9
17.2
25.3
19.5
20.1
Married Sons
921
23.0
49.7
13.5
16.1
45.3
20.1
29 years old and under
218
24.8
38.5
9.6
16.5
58.7
15.6
30 to 39 years old
454
22.7
51.5
14.1
15.2
44.7
20.3
40 to 49 years old
249
22.1
56.2
15.7
17.3
34.5
23.7
Daughters
1,117
24.2
66.1
20.5
37.0
28.0
14.0
29 years old and under
293
25.9
51.2
16.4
40.6
29.0
15.4
30 to 39 years old
557
24.4
73.6
22.1
37.3
29.4
12.0
40 to 49 years old
267
21.7
66.7
21.7
32.2
24.0
16.5

2

Health of parents and their need for special care

The size of households with the elderly increased as they aged.
Living arrangements of the elderly population in industrialized countries have gone through manychanges in recent years, due mainly to their growth in proportion and the commercialization of nursing
care. In Japan, the proportion of the elderly living alone or living alone with their spouses have
rapidly increased. In contrast, the proportion of three-generational households in all households has
decreased, and the size of Japanese households are getting smaller and smaller. In this survey, we
asked respondents what kind of households individuals in their late adulthood belong. Overall, an
increase in the proportion of 60-year olds and over who lived in households containing more than four
people was observed. Furthermore, about 40 percent of those aged 70-year olds and over lived inhouseholds with more than five people. Among the population 75 years old and over, more than half
lived in households containing more than four people, while about 70 percent of the same population
lived in households containing more than three people. It is true that more and more Japanese people
have come to prefer living separately from their parents/children in recent years. Nevertheless, at thesame time, there has been observed a noticeable difference between living arrangements of Japaneseelderly and those of the elderly in other industrialized countries in the West. To put it simply,
Japanese elderly were most likely to be taken care of by their children or other relatives, reflecting thecontinued importance of family institutions in the caretaking of the Japanese elderly. Can we stay
like this? Facing the rapid increase in the elderly population, we have to find the better way ofutilization of nursing care.

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The proportion of married women who looked after both their children and their parents waslow.
In general, parents cannot help their married daughters look after their small children if they are nothealthy enough. In the worst situation, it is possible that parents need to be looked after by theirmarried daughters with children, putting these women into very difficult situations. Among young
married women under the age of 40, it was not common at all to have parents in need of special care.
Only one percent of those 29 years old and under, along with only 2 percent of those in their thirties,
looked after their parents/parents-in-law in need of nursing. However, in contrast, a sizable
proportion of married women in their fifties and over had parents/parents-in-law in need of special
care.
Table 8Their own parents
Age ofmarried women

Fathers

Parents-in-law
Mothers

Fathers

Mothers
Total
In need of Total
In need of Total
In need of Total
In need of
In health
In health
In health
In healthpopulation
special care population
special care population
special care population
special care
29 years old and under
520 98.7%
1.3%
567
98.4%
1.6%
516 98.4%
1.6%
512 99.0%
1.0%
30 to 39 years old
1,248 94.6
5.4
1,467
97.8
2.2
1,190 14.9
5.1
1,292 97.3
2.7
40 to 49 years old
1,069 91.1
8.9
1,575
93.9
6.1
925 92.0
8.0
1,388 92.7
7.3
50 to 59 years old
298 79.5
20.5
736
82.6
17.4
228 87.3
12.7
695 83.7
16.3
60 years old and over47 76.6
23.4
221
78.3
21.7
28 78.6
21.4
159 74.8
25.2

Children who live apart from their parents tend to be estranged from the opportunity to takecare of their parents.
Then, we discuss the care of parents in separate households. There are not many data on parents wholive with their children, we do not mention the details of family caretaker. Only frequency of care isshown.
Parents need to be assisted or cared are 6 to 8 percent of all the parents in separate households. Also,
parents who need full assistance are approximately 1 percent. Wife’s involvement in the assistanceor care as a caretaker varies slightly depending on the family situation, but approximately 10 percent
of all the wives are engaged in the assistance or care of their parents. Proportion of wife as the
caretaker for husband’s father is the lowest in family caretakers for the parents. In any case, thesituation shows that it is difficult for any wife to assist or care the parents in separate households.
One third of all the wives take care of their fathers and mothers, whether as primary caretaker or as
auxiliary caretaker. On the other hand, a little over 10 percent of the wives take care theirfathers-in-law and approximately 20 percent of them take care their mothers-in-law. That is, thedifference between taking care of their parents and that of their parents-in-law is observed. Who
9does play a role as primary caretaker, except wife? Whether wife’s farther or husband’s father,primary caretaker of father is his wife (spouse) and the proportion of the wife as the primary caretakerof husband is over 50 percent of all the primary caretaker of the father. The primary caretaker of
wife’s father is his son’s wife and his daughter and both make up a little over 10 percent of all the
primary caretaker of the father. The primary caretaker of husband’s father is his son’s wife and the
proportion is approximately 15 percent. In this case of husband’s father, the proportion of his
daughter as the primary caretaker is lower than that of his son.
In case of husband’s mother, the proportion of her husband (spouse of husband’s mother) who takes
care of her is a little over 10 percent. On the other hand, in case of wife’s mother, the proportion ofher husband (spouse of wife’s mother) who takes care of her is a little less than 20 percent. The
proportion of daughter-in-law who takes care of her mother-in-law, that of so who takes care of his
mother and that of daughter who takes care of her mother are approximately 20 percent. Any otherfamily member is included “Others” in the tables shown below and the details are undefined.
However, external service such as home helper or housekeeper is not used so frequently and familytakes care of its member mainly.
Family member in separate households is not received nursing care so much and any other member
can play a role of just secondary caretakers. For a family that has a member requiring long-term care,
it is very difficult to get cooperation in nursing care from any other family member in separate
households
Table 9 Health condition of parents or parents-in-law of married women living separately
Condition of health
Relationship to
Total
In needPartly in need In need of
In healthmarried women
populationof occasional help of special care special care
Father
3,079
92.3%
5.3%
1.5%
0.9%
Mother
4,361
93.3
4.5
1.3
0.9
Father-in-law
2,308
93.6
3.6
1.6
1.2
Mother-in-law
3,384
92.9
4.4
1.7
1.0

Table 10 The primary caretakers of married women’s parents or parents-in-law living separately
Relationship
Total
Spouses ofDaughters ofSons ofDaughters-in-law External
Othersto married women population
those receiving care those receiving care the cared of the cared
caretakers
Father
185
53.5%
12.4%
8.1%
13.5%
3.2%
9.2%
Mother
202
18.8
21.3
18.8
17.8
4.5
18.8
Father-in-law
122
58.2
3.3
5.7
15.6
0.8
16.4
Mother-in-law
173
11.6
19.1
15.6
18.5
5.2
30.1
Married women are included either in ‘Daughters’ or in ‘Daughters-in-law’.

Table 11 The extent of responsibilities which married women had for their parents
or parents-in-law who needed special care, living separately
Relationship to Total
Married women were Married women were notmarried women population the primary caretakers the primary caretakers
Father
209
10.0%
90.0%
Mother
235
12.8
87.2
Father-in-law
134
7.5
92.5
Mother-in-law
200
12.5
87.5
Relationship to Total
Married women were Married women were notmarried women population involved in care giving involved in care giving
Father
174
33.3%
66.7%
Mother
195
32.8
67.2
Father-in-law
117
12.8
87.2
Mother-in-law
164
21.3
78.7

10

Married women talked to their own mothers more often than to their mothers-in-law, when they
lived separately from their parents or parents-in-law. Over half of them talked to their own
mothers in separate households more than once to twice a week.
Married women talked to their mothers regardless of distance between them, although it becomesdifficult for them to see their parents as they live far away. Over half of married women talked totheir own parents more than once or twice a week, while the corresponding numbers of those whotalked to their mothers-in-law one third of all. Married women in areas with low population density
spoke to their mothers-in-law more often than their counterparts in areas with high population density,
though married women in both areas talked to their own mothers with the same frequency. It wasalso observed that in areas with high population density, married women talked to their own parents
much more often than to their parents-in-law.
About 30 percent of married women who lived apartfrom their parents or parents-in-law talked to their parents-in-law less than a few times a year, whenabout 15 percent of the same population talked to their own parents with that low frequency. Overall,married women talked to their own parents (either in person or over the phone) more often than totheir parents-in-law, and the difference was more obvious among those who lived in areas with highpopulation density.

11

12

4

Sharing of family responsibilities between husband and wife

For married women who do not have other help in doing their household chores and taking care of
their children, their husbands’ cooperation is important. The husbands’ participation in family
responsibilities is an important issue, not only in a sense that it can decrease the workload of wives,
but also because it reflects gender relationships in households. Even today, taking family
responsibilities in Japanese households continues to be based on the conventional norms of gender
relationships. Here, we will look at husbands’ contribution to household work, such as their
participation in household chores and child rearing.
1

How much time did married women spend on household chores?
their husbands?

How cooperative were

The time spent on household chores was relatively shorter among those who were married tohusbands who came home before 8 pm than those whose husbands did after 8 pm.
We asked married women how many hours on average they spent on their household chores. On
weekdays, married women who spent more than 6 hours on household chores represented about 30
percent of those in their thirties and twenties, and the corresponding figures among older generation
are smaller. The same trend was observed for the average hours spent on household chores. For
example, the average time married women in their thirties spent on their household chores were 60
minutes longer than the average time married women in their fifties spent on their household chores.
The gap between generations could be explained by the larger proportion of those with small children
among married women in their twenties and thirties. On holidays, 30 percent of married women in
their thirties spent more than 6 hours on household chores, when about 20 percent of those in their
twenties, forties, and fifties did so. Married women in their twenties and sixties spent less time onhousehold chores on holidays, while those in their forties and fifties spent more time on householdchores on holidays. The majority of married women in their forties and fifties worked part-time on
weekdays, and they are thought to have done all their household chores on holidays, contributing to
the relatively long average time spent on household chores among the age groups. On the other hand,married women in their twenties are thought to have spent less time on household chores on holidays
because of the help from their husbands.

13

The average time married women spent on household chores differed more depending on different
employment status than on different age groups. Married women who worked full time spent one
hour less time on household chores than those who worked part time. Compared to married women
who were not employed at all, the time those with full-time jobs spent on households chores was
shorter by more than 150 minutes. However, at the same time, about 30 percent of married womenwith full-time jobs spent more than 4 hours on households chores on weekdays. Furthermore, thesepeople were likely to do most of their household chores on holidays, spending on average 100 minutes
more time on household chores on holidays than on weekdays.

Married women who lived with
their parents or parents-in-law
were likely to spend more time
on household chores onholidays than those who did not
live
with
their
parents/parents-in-law.
However, those who lived with
their
parents/parents-in-law
spent less time on householdchoreson
weekdays.
Especially, married women
who lived with their own
parents spent less time onhousehold chores than those
who
lived
with
their
parents-in-law.

14

Married women whose husbands
came home before 8 pm spent 30
minutes less time on householdchores than those married womenwhose husbands came home after
8 pm.
Working hours ofhusbands was one of theimportant factors to explain thelength of time married womenspent on their household chores.

Even among the husbands of married women with full-time jobs, as much as 30 percent did not
do their share of household chores.
The extent to which household chores are shared between husband and wife is important not only inaffecting the length of time married women spent for household chores, but also in reflecting gender
relationships in family households. We asked married women in different age groups to what extent
they share the household chores. In every age group, over 80 percent of married women did morethan 80 percent of household chores. Among the married women in their forties, 90 percent did
more than 80 percent of their household chores. Married women whose husbands did not do theirhousehold chores at all constituted 40 percent among those in their forties, fifties and sixties.
Although the proportion of married women who did 100 percent of their household chores was
relatively lower among those in their twenties and thirties, as many as one out of four married womenin their twenties were married to husbands who did not do their share of household chores at all.
However, among married women in their sixties, those whose husbands did more household chores
than themselves are 6.3 percent, while 4.2 percent shared the equal amount of household chores with
their husband. It seemed that husbands were likely to do more household chores as they aged.

15

We also asked the same question to married women with different employment statuses, but there was
not a dramatic difference. Approximately 80 percent of married women with full-time jobs did morethan 80 percent of their household chores, while about 90 percent of married women without jobs did
more than 80 percent of their household chores. About 40 percent of married women without jobs,
compared with about 30
percentofmarriedwomen with full-timejobs, did 100 percent of
their household chores.
Even among married
women with full-time
jobs,
those
whose
husbands did an equalamount of household
work as themselves were
only 10 percent.
2

Trends in husbands’ share of household work

The overall proportion of those husbands who participated in household work increased slightly.
However, husbands in the middle age continued to be the least likely to be involved in family
responsibilities.
We asked married women how they shared six different kinds of household work with their husbands.
The six kinds of household work included: dumping garbage, doing grocery shopping, cleaning,
washing clothes, cooking, and cleaning the bathroom. In any item, the proportion of those husbands
who did the work once to twice a week did not exceed 40 percent, although the overall proportion of
those husbands who were involved in household work slightly increased. However, most of thosehusbands participated in a rather easier part of household work, such as doing grocery shopping or
dumping garbage. Those husbands who participated in those kinds of household work which needed
more commitment, such as cleaning, washing clothes or cooking, continued to be a small proportion.
In conclusion, 70 to 80 percent of husbands had never or rarely participated in these more complicatedparts of household work.

16Comparing the husbands’ level of participation in household work between 1993 and 1998, husbandsof married women in all ages scored higher points in its level in 1998 than 1993. It could be notedthat husbands of married women in their forties continued to be less cooperative in household workthan their counterparts in other age groups, and this could be attributed to their increased
responsibilities at work. On the other hand, husbands of married women in their sixties participatedmore in household work probably because they had retired from work or because their responsibilities
at work reduced. The noticeable difference among husbands of married women in their sixties wasthat a clear line was drawn between those who participated in household work and those who did not
at all. Health of their wives and themselves seemed to be an important factor behind this trend.

17

Husbands who lived with their parents/parents-in-law were more likely not to participate inhousehold work.
Husbands with small children were more cooperative in household work than those with older
children or those without children. Husbands were rather cooperative in household work when their
youngest children were under the age 12. The younger the children, the more cooperative they were.
Husbands who lived with their parents or parents-in-law were less likely to participate in household
work than their counterparts who did not live with their parents or parents-in-law. This difference
was apparent in every item of household work in 1998, as it had been in 1993. It could be assumed
that they did not have to participate in household work as their parents or parents-in-law did household
work. However, from another point of view, it could be considered that their parents’ participation inhousehold work discouraged them from doing their share of their household work.
Husbands with job participated more in every category of household work except grocery shopping,than those without job. The gap was wider between husbands with full-time job and those without
job. However, at the same time, more than 80 percent of husbands with job did not participate at all
in household work such as cleaning, washing clothes and cooking, though husbands who came homeearlier than 8 pm were more cooperative than the rest of them. Overall, most of household work
continued to be done by married women in 1998.
Table 12 Husbands’ participation in household work by type of household chore
Age of married women;
Age of the youngest children;
Living arrangements;
Employment status of married women
Total in proportionAge of married women
29 years old and under
30 to 39 years old
40 to 49 years old
50 to 59 years old
60 to 69 years old
Age of the youngest children
Under 1 years
Under 3 years
Under 6 years
Under 12 years
Under 18 years
18 years and over
Living arrangements
Lived with their parents-in-law
Lived with their own parents
Did not live with their parents/parents-in-law
Occupation status of married women
Full-time employee
Part-time employee
Owned their own business; helped family business
Not in labor force3

Dumping garbage Grocery shopping
st

nd

st

CleaningndstWashing clothes
nd

st

nd

CookingstCleaning the bathroom
nd

The 1
SurveyThe 2SurveyThe 1
Survey

26.5%

34.9%

25.2%

34.7%

13.4% 18.7% 15.7%

19.7%

20.1%

24.9%

25.4%

43.3
25.2
19.8
27.3
32.9

47.6
36.5
28.6
32.7
41.4

38.2
25.5
21.9
23.0
25.4

42.1
36.3
32.3
30.8
38.9

14.6
11.5
11.3
15.8
19.8

15.3
15.5
16.3
19.6
32.7

17.9
12.5
12.8
19.8
23.4

21.3
16.5
16.4
20.7
31.6

26.5
18.3
17.3
22.1
23.2

27.2
25.4
21.4
24.2
32.3

32.9
24.8
21.3
24.3
33.8

45.2
37.4
21.8
18.6
19.0
26.7

50.9
42.4
34.9
27.9
27.9
32.5

35.6
31.1
24.6
22.8
21.6
22.8

52.0
38.6
32.4
33.7
31.4
31.4

11.4
12.3
12.3
12.8
10.6
15.0

17.1
16.1
15.3
13.6
15.3
21.7

17.4
12.3
11.4
12.2
12.5
19.8

16.6
17.6
17.1
12.0
16.8
21.7

23.3
17.9
17.4
16.3
18.2
21.3

32.0
24.4
24.1
20.9
20.7
24.0

36.6
32.0
21.1
20.1
19.7
26.2

16.4
18.6
29.4

23.0
22.0
37.8

20.3
21.5
26.7

31.0
30.8
35.2

9.9
10.9
13.3

16.3
16.3
17.1

10.2
11.7
15.8

14.5
13.2
19.4

15.4
18.6
20.9

18.8
19.0
25.6

19.3
19.7
26.0

31.3
22.9
23.0

41.4
29.0
35.3

24.5
20.8
18.4

34.0
30.3
30.9

19.5
11.9
10.9

21.8
14.1
19.6

23.1
15.0
11.4

28.1
16.2
20.7

27.0
20.5
17.0

30.9
23.0
24.2

30.8
21.5
22.9

25.8

34.8

27.5

37.5

9.7

17.8

10.8

16.8

15.4

22.5

26.7

The 1 The 2 The 1 The 2
The 2
The 1
The 2
Survey Survey Survey Survey Survey Survey Survey

Sharing of responsibility for child rearing

About 10 percent of husbands with children under the age of one did not participate in therearing of the children at all.
Among married women with children in their thirties and forties, over 80 percent were responsible formore than 80 percent of childrearing. Even among married women with children in their twenties,
18

nd

The 2

Surveythree out of every four did 80 percent of childrearing. Furthermore, about 30 percent of married
women aged between 45 to 49 years with children did 100 percent of childrearing. The proportion of
those who did all the childrearing by themselves was lower among younger married women, but evenamong those in their twenties, 10 percent were 100 percent responsible for the rearing of their children.
Among married women with children in their twenties, 20 percent did 60 to 79 percent of childrearing,and those whose husbands shared the equal amount of childrearing responsibility were only 5.6
percent.

Husbands with children at different stages of development are supposed to have different degrees ofparticipation in childrearing. However, those who did more than 80 percent of childrearing
represented about the same proportion as even those with small children. Only a small difference
was observed for the proportion of married women who were 100 percent responsible for the rearingof their children, when those children were in their earlier developmental stages. Even among
married women with children under the age one, those whose husbands shared an equal or greater
amount of responsibility for childrearing were only 3.4 percent. Married women with children overthe school age (6) were likely to shoulder a greater share of responsibility, and their share of
responsibility increased as children aged. As with the case of household work, married women were
the ones who were solely or mainly responsible for childrearing. For this reason, women today arethought to be rather reluctant to get married or to have babies.

19

4

The trend in husbands’ participation in child rearing

The younger the married women were, the more their husbands participated in childrearing.
However, among the husbands of married women in their twenties, the proportion of those who
participated in the rearing of their children remained stable.
We asked married women under the age 50 who were raising children at the time of the survey about
their husbands’ cooperation in childrearing. We divided the work related to childrearing into 6 items:
playing with children, bathing children, putting children to sleep, feeding children, changing diapers,
and cradling crying children. We examined what proportion of their husbands participated in each of
the six items of activities as often as once to twice a week, and compared to the estimates from thefirst survey.
In every category except ‘putting children to sleep’, the proportion of husbands who did the work atleast once to twice a week increased by 4 to 9 percentage points from 1993 to 1998. The proportionof husbands who put their children to sleep at least once to twice a week remained relatively stablebetween 1993 and 1998.
To compare the situation in 1998 to that of 1993, we gave husbands of married women with smallchildren points according to their level of participation in childrearing. In every age group except
those in their twenties, their husbands are more likely to involve in childrearing in 1998 than in 1993.

20

60 percent of the husbands having small children did not participate in the more difficult part ofchildrearing at all.
The proportion of husbands with small children who ‘bathed their children’ once to twice a week, thatof those who ‘played with their children’ once to twice a week, both increased to about 80 percent,although the percentage share remained relatively stable for the husbands of married women in their
twenties. The proportion of husbands with small children who ‘fed their children’ once to twice a
week, and that of those who ‘changed the diapers of their children once to twice a week, increased themost, while half of all husbands with small children did not change diapers so often in 1998. As forthe more complicated part of childrearing, less than 40 percent of husbands with small children ‘puttheir children to sleep’ at least once to twice a week, and the percentage share in 1998 remained
almost the same as in 1993. Furthermore, though the proportion of husbands who cooperated inchildrearing once to twice a week increased across most age groups, the proportion of the husbands intheir twenties who participated in childrearing dropped in three items. However, despite thesedeclines in extent of participating in childrearing, the husbands in their twenties were the mostcooperative compared to the other age groups. The extent of participation in childrearing of
husbands declined as married women aged, as it was the case in the previous survey in 1993. In theitem of ‘cradling crying children’, which we added it to be new in the 1998 survey, the majority ofhusbands participated at least once to twice a week, ranking as the third most common type ofchildrearing.
We also examined what proportion of husbands of different types participated in each item ofchildrearing at least once to twice a week. By the age of the youngest children, the younger thechildren, the more cooperative husbands were, as was the case with the previous survey. In mostitems except ‘putting children to sleep’, husbands with children at their age were found to be morecooperative in 1998 than in 1993. However, even among those with children under the age of 3, theproportion of husbands who ‘fed their children’, that of those who ‘put their children to sleep’, along
21

with that of those who ‘changed their diapers’, continued to be small proportions. In conclusion,
married women continued to be the primary caretakers of their children.
Husbands who lived with their parents or parents-in-law were less likely to participate in any of thesix items of childrearing, similar to the 1993 survey. Their relationships with their parents orparents-in-law could be an important factor to the extent of their participation in childrearing.
The husbands whose wives are in full-time work were more cooperative in childrearing than those
whose wives were not employed. Among the husbands whose wives are in full-time work, theproportion of those who ‘changed diapers’, as well as the percentage share of those who ‘fed theirchildren’, increased by 10 percentage points. Among the same population, even the proportion of
those who ‘put their children to sleep’ increased by 5 percentage points between 1993 and 1998.
In any case, the proportion of husbands with small children who had never or rarely participated inchildrearing continued to be the majority in 1998. Similar to household work, married womencontinued to be responsible for most of childrearing.
Table 13 Husbands’ participation in child rearing by socio-economic status of married women
Age of married women;
Play with children Bathe children Feed children Put children to sleep Change diapers Cradle crying children
Age of the youngest children;
The 1st The 2nd The 1st The 2nd The 1st The 2nd The 1st The 2nd The 1st The 2nd
Living arrangements;
The 2nd Survey
SurveySurvey Survey Survey Survey Survey Survey Survey Survey Survey
Employment status of married women
Total in proportion
78.0% 82.3% 72.7% 77.4% 40.9% 49.9%
38.1%
38.8% 37.5% 46.1%
59.1%
Age of married women
29 years old and under
94.6
93.2
79.8
78.8
55.3
59.4
48.5
45.6
52.6
57.9
71.7
30 to 39 years old
85.4
90.0
77.0
82.5
44.7
58.7
45.2
46.2
47.4
56.5
70.8
40 to 49 years old
78.3
82.0
71.6
78.1
39.3
51.4
39.2
40.2
39.3
47.8
60.8
50 to 59 years old
71.3
77.0
69.6
76.5
34.8
44.7
33.6
33.9
31.0
40.8
53.5
60 to 69 years old
70.5
77.5
70.1
73.6
36.8
43.4
30.7
34.4
27.2
37.5
49.7
Age of the youngest children
Under 1 years
95.8
96.6
81.2
86.8
51.2
60.9
57.7
56.9
60.1
62.1
87.9
Under 3 years
94.0
93.9
80.4
82.1
56.3
64.5
45.6
45.8
45.4
59.2
70.8
Under 6 years
86.9
83.4
76.1
78.1
40.3
53.0
43.8
44.5
47.3
53.0
62.4
Under 12 years
71.5
79.8
68.5
77.0
36.0
46.3
36.3
37.7
34.6
45.1
56.7
Under 18 years
69.8
76.8
69.3
75.8
35.7
44.6
31.8
31.1
31.3
37.9
51.3
18 years and over
68.9
76.3
69.6
71.8
35.8
43.0
29.2
33.9
24.6
34.1
48.2
Living arrangements
Lived with their parents-in-law
75.1
82.7
65.4
73.5
35.1
45.1
33.9
37.4
27.9
37.0
55.3
Lived with their own parents
69.9
80.2
67.4
71.8
35.6
47.0
36.4
35.6
32.2
37.1
52.0
Did not live with their parents/parents-in-law
75.8
82.4
71.6
79.1
38.9
51.4
35.6
39.5
36.3
49.4
60.7
Occupation status of married women
Full-time employee
75.9
84.5
70.8
75.7
43.1
55.2
37.6
43.2
37.8
48.9
61.7
Part-time employee
77.8
81.4
73.8
80.0
38.6
50.3
36.6
36.8
33.7
41.6
56.3
Owned their own business; helped family business 73.6
74.9
67.2
69.0
31.3
41.0
32.2
36.3
28.7
40.1
48.4
Not in labor force
81.4
85.2
74.6
79.7
41.2
50.7
39.7
40.2
41.3
50.0
62.2

The average time at which husbands came home was earlier in 1998 than in 1993
Compared to that in 1993, the extend of participation of husbands both in household work and inchildrearing increased slightly in 1998. It is a fact that the role of husbands in family households areaffected by various environmental factors, which include the type of their living arrangements andhusbands’ working hours. Here, we compared the average time at which husbands came home in1998 to that of 1993. It was observed that, in every age group under the age 60, the proportion of
those who came back home before 8 pm, as well as the percentage share of those who came backbefore 9 pm, increased between 1993 and 1998. It would be possible that the improvement in theparticipation rate of husbands in household work and childrearing could be partly attributed to thisincrease in the proportion of husbands who came back home earlier than at the time of the previous
survey. However, among the husbands in their twenties, thirties and forties, about 30 percent come22

back home later than 9 pm in 1998. Among the husbands in their thirties, those who came homelater than 10 pm were 20 percent. The relatively small growth in the proportion of husband who ‘puttheir children to sleep’ was possibly caused by the large proportion of husbands who came home late
at night. We believe that, for married couples with small children, a high level of communication
between husband and wife, as well as a high degree of cooperation between them, are essential.
Along with the need for changes in environmental factors, there needs to be a change in the attitudesof husbands and wives, to bring about a fundamental change in gender relationships in Japanesefamilies.
Table 14 The average time when husband came home, by age and employment status of married women
Age of married women; Employment
status of married women
Total in proportionAge of married women
29 years old and under
30 to 39 years old
40 to 49 years old
50 to 59 years old
60 to 69 years old
Employment status of married women
Full-time employment
Part-time employment
Self-employed and family workers
Not in labor force

5

Came home before 8 pm Came home before 9 pm Came home before 10 pm Came home later than 10 pm
st
nd
st
nd
st
nd
st
nd
The 1
The 2
The 1
The 2
The 1
The 2
The 1
The 2
SurveySurveySurveySurveySurveySurveySurveySurvey
47.0%
54.3%
13.5%
18.3%
12.2%
11.7%
27.2%
15.7%
36.5
38.4
46.2
62.6
78.5

50.7
43.8
51.1
67.8
77.3

15.3
12.8
13.9
14.0
9.4

19.2
20.9
19.8
14.9
8.3

17.5
14.3
11.4
8.3
5.0

13.1
15.1
13.2
7.0
3.0

30.7
34.5
28.5
15.1
7.2

17.0
20.2
15.9
10.3
11.3

49.5
46.9
44.7
41.4

62.6
53.0
53.4
51.2

14.2
12.8
16.6
13.8

17.0
18.7
14.8
19.0

11.8
11.9
15.8
12.8

8.6
12.5
11.2
12.9

24.5
28.4
22.9
32.0

11.8
15.8
20.6
16.8

The level of married women’s appreciation of their husbands’ participation in household
work and childrearing

Younger housewives were likely to be satisfied with their husbands’ cooperation, whereas older
housewives were likely not to be satisfied with the level of their husbands’ cooperation inhousehold work.
In general, Japanese married women show their appreciation of husbands’ cooperation in household
work, even though they rarely participate in household work and childrearing. In 1998, the level of
their husbands’ participation in household work remained low. As we did in the 1993 survey, we
asked married women how they felt about the level of their husbands’ cooperation in household workand childrearing.
Overall, the proportion of those who were satisfied with their husbands’ cooperation, and those who
were not, represented an equal proportion in 1998. In 1993, the proportion of those who weresatisfied were 60 percent of all married women, and this means an increase in the proportion of those
who were not satisfied in 1998. By age, married women aged 29 years old and under were most
likely to be satisfied with their husbands’ cooperation, as was the case with the previous survey.
However, the proportion of those who were satisfied decreased between 1993 and 1998 in every age
group. Married women in their forties were most likely not to be satisfied with the level of theirhusbands’ cooperation in household work, reflecting the low level of participation in household work
among the husbands in this age group.
By employment status of married women, the proportion of those who were not happy with the levelof their husbands’ cooperation increased in every group. Even among married women who did notwork at all, the group of people who were most likely to be satisfied with the level of their husbands’
cooperation, the proportion of those who were not happy with the level of their husbands’
participation in household work and childrearing increased by 10 percent between 1993 and 1998.
23

By types of living arrangements, the proportion of those who were not satisfied with the level of theirhusbands’ participation in household work and child rearing increased in every group, and the mostnoticeable change was observed among those who lived with their parents or parents-in-law. Among
those who lived with their parents or parents-in-law, those who were not satisfied were larger thanthose who were satisfied in 1998, reversing the situation in 1993. Also by the average time at which
their husbands came home, the proportion of those who were not happy increased in every group.
The later their husbands came home, the more unsatisfied married women were. It seemed thatwhether their husbands came home earlier than 8 pm or not made a difference in married women’slevel of appreciation of their husbands’ cooperation. Over 50 percent of married women whose
husbands came later than 8 pm were unhappy about the level of their husbands’ cooperation inhousehold work. The proportion of those who were ‘extremely unhappy’ increased as their husbands
came home late.
While the proportion of married women who were not happy with the level of their husbands’
cooperation in household work and childrearing increased, it should be noted that about half of all
married women said they were happy with the level of their husbands’ participation in household
work. Considering that three out of four married women thought that husbands and wives shouldshare an equal amount of household work and responsibility for childrearing, the large proportion of
married women who said that they were satisfied appears inconsistent with their feelings. It could beargued that they expressed their real opinions or desires when asked a general question but repressed
their feelings and desires when asked a rather personal question, accepting the traditional role ofmarried women.
Table 15 The level of married women’s appreciation to their husbands’ extent of participation in household work and childrearing,by socio-economic status of married women
Total population
Married women by type
Total in proportionAge of married women
29 years old and under
30 to 39 years old
40 to 49 years old
50 to 59 years old
60 to 69 years old
Employment status ofmarried women
Full-time employment
Part-time employment
Self-employed and family workers
Not in labor force
Living arrangements
Lived with parents/parents-in-law
Lived with their own parents
Lived with their parents-in-law
Living separately from their parents
or parents-in-law
The average time at which
their husbands came home
Before 8 pm
Before 9 pm
Before 10 pm
10 pm and later

stSatisfied

Extremely satisfied Rather satisfied

nd

st

nd

st

nd

557
1,466
1,740
1,115
546

562
1,543
1,896
1,410
786

72.6
58.1
56.6
61.6
65.9

63.4
52.4
44.8
52.4
57.3

17.8
11.4
9.5
7.8
9.5

946
989
671
2,425

925
812
664
2,604

58.2
57.5
57.8
63.3

52.4
45.2
49.1
54.7

1,177
901
274
3,458

1,270
956
306
3,872

57.5
56.5
60.6
60.4

1,820
527
478
1,060

2,189
772
497
661

64.5
65.1
59.6
52.9

Unsatisfied

Rather unsatisfied Extremely unsatisfied

st

nd

st

nd

The 1
The 2 The 1 The 2
The 1
The 2
The 1 The 2 The 1 The 2 The 1st The 2nd The 1st
The 2ndSurvey Survey Survey Survey Survey Survey Survey Survey Survey Survey Survey Survey Survey
Survey5,424 6,197
60.6
51.7
10.5
10.1
50.1
41.6
39.4
48.3
29.2
32.4
10.2
15.9%
16.2
11.8
8.5
8.7
8.8

54.8
46.7
47.1
53.8
56.4

47.2
40.6
36.3
43.7
48.5

27.5
41.9
43.4
38.4
34.1

36.7
47.5
55.2
47.6
52.7

22.3
32.4
31.3
27.3
25.1

26.7
33.2
36.1
31.9
36.7

5.2
9.5
12.1
11.1
9.0

10.0
14.3
19.1
15.7
16.0

10.3
9.1
9.4
11.3

12.6
7.3
8.3
10.4

47.9
48.4
48.4
52.0

39.8
37.9
40.8
44.3

41.8
42.4
42.1
36.7

47.6
54.8
50.9
45.3

30.0
31.3
30.8
27.7

31.5
35.8
33.9
31.6

11.8
11.1
11.3
9.0

16.1
19.0
17.0
13.7

46.7
47.3
43.8
52.2

8.9
9.0
8.8
11.4

9.1
9.1
9.2
10.7

48.6
47.5
51.8
49.0

37.6
38.2
34.6
41.5

42.5
43.5
39.4
39.6

53.4
52.8
56.2
47.8

32.8
33.6
30.3
29.0

36.4
35.7
39.2
32.0

9.7
9.9
9.1
10.6

17.0
17.1
17.0
15.8

53.5
48.2
45.6
43.7

12.9
10.1
7.7
9.5

10.9
9.6
6.6
8.5

51.6
55.0
51.9
43.4

42.6
38.6
39.0
35.2

35.5
34.9
40.4
43.5

46.5
51.9
54.3
56.2

27.1
27.1
33.1
29.5

32.6
35.4
37.0
33.1

8.4
7.8
7.3
14.0

13.9
16.5
17.3
23.1

24

While the proportion of married women who were not happy with the level of their husbands’
cooperation increased, it was also observed that married women valued their husbands’ cooperation
rather highly, in spite of the low participation rate of husbands in household work and childrearing.
In this sense, we asked married women what level of cooperation they expected from their husbands.
Married women in their twenties were most likely to expect a high level of cooperation from theirhusbands. Among married women in their twenties, those who ‘expected a high level ofcooperation’, combined with those who ‘expected a reasonable level of cooperation’, constituted 60
percent of all. Married women in their forties were most likely not to expect cooperation from theirhusbands, and those who expected some level of cooperation were less than 50 percent. Among
married women in their forties, those who ‘did not expect much cooperation’, those who ‘did not
expect cooperation’, as well as those who ‘had never expected cooperation in the first place’, were themajority.
Among married women who did not work, those who ‘had never expected cooperation in the firstplace’ consisted a large proportion. We assumed this result as a natural outcome, as, in general,housewives who don’t bring home any income are supposed to be responsible for household work andchildrearing. However, it was found that married women who did not work tended to expect a rather
high level of cooperation from their husbands. The proportion of those who ‘expected cooperationfrom their husbands’ were lower among those who did not work than among those who worked fulltime, although it was higher among those who did not work than among those who worked part timeor those who were family workers. In conclusion, married women who did not work have neverconsidered themselves to be specialized in household work and child rearing.
Table 16 The level of expectation of married women to their husbands’
participation in household work and child rearing, by socio-economic status of married women
Expected cooperation
Did not expect cooperation
The results of
Expected
Expected
Did not expect Did not
Had never expected the 1st survey in 1993
Total
Type of married womena high level a reasonable levelmuch
expect any cooperation
Expected Did not expect
populationof cooperation of cooperationcooperationcooperation in the first placecooperation cooperation
Total
6,440 47.5
13.7
33.8 52.5
30.8
13.6
8.1
50.7
49.3
Age of married women
29 years old and under
571 59.9
18.9
41.0 40.2
24.0
10.2
6.0
63.9
36.1
30 to 39 years old
1,583 50.0
13.6
36.4 49.9
29.6
13.5
6.8
51.0
49.0
40 to 49 years old
1,962 43.7
12.7
31.0 56.3
32.3
15.8
8.2
45.7
54.3
50 to 59 years old
1,486 45.6
13.0
32.6 54.4
33.0
12.6
8.8
50.0
50.0
60 to 69 years old
838 46.1
13.8
32.3 53.8
30.3
12.9
10.6
53.7
46.3
Employment status ofmarried women
Full-time employment
952 53.6
17.3
36.3 46.4
27.0
11.6
7.8
50.7
49.3
Part-time employment
833 43.1
11.9
31.2 57.0
35.1
14.2
7.7
47.6
52.4
Self-employed and701 44.9
13.4
31.5 55.0
29.5
15.1
10.4
46.7
53.3
family workers
Not in labor force
2,699 47.8
13.0
34.8 52.3
30.8
13.7
7.8
52.3
47.7

Lastly, we examined the relationship between the level of married women’s satisfaction and the levelof their husbands’ participation in household work and childrearing, adding up the scores of items that
their husbands participate in. It was seen that the more husbands were cooperative in household
work and childrearing, the more married women were likely to be satisfied with their husbands’
cooperation. The level of expectation of married women to husbands’ participation in household
work and childrearing was higher in 1998 than that in 1993.

25

Table 17 The relationship between the level of husbands’ participation in household work and child rearing and the level of married women’s satisfaction
The level of married Total
Husbands’ scores in household work participation
Average scores required
women’s satisfaction population0
1-4 5-8
9 - 12 13 - 16 17 - 20 The 2nd Survey The 1st Survey
Extremely satisfied
588 5.1% 17.9% 27.0% 25.2% 14.6% 10.2%
8.9
(7.6)
Rather satisfied
2,382 10.3 35.9 29.0
13.6
6.0
5.2
5.9
(4.9)
Rather unsatisfied
1,880 22.0 50.9 17.9
3.8
2.3
3.0
3.6
(2.8)
Extremely unsatisfied
930 42.6 44.0
7.4
2.4
1.1
2.6
2.2
(1.7)
Total
5,780 18.8 40.2 21.7
9.8
4.9
4.6
4.9
(4.2)
The level of married Total
Husbands’ scores in child rearing
Average scores required
women’s satisfaction population0
1-4 5-8
9 - 12 13 - 16 17 - 20 The 2nd Survey The 1st Survey
Extremely satisfied
475 3.2% 4.2% 9.5% 20.6% 30.5% 32.0%
13.5(12.6)
Rather satisfied
2,094 2.3 10.0 20.5
30.4
23.2
13.7
10.7
(9.4)
Rather unsatisfied
1,746 4.1 24.0 33.8
22.6
10.0
5.4
7.7
(6.5)
Extremely unsatisfied
881 12.4 38.3 29.4
12.0
4.3
3.6
5.4
(3.8)
Total
5,196 4.7 19.0 25.5
23.8
16.2
10.9
9.0
(8.2)

26

5
1

Communication between husband and wife

Communication between husband and wife

The majority of married women in their twenties and thirties wanted to share as much time as
possible with their husbands, whereas the majority of those in their forties and over wanted torespect their own individual interests.

To measure the level of communication between husband and wife, we asked married women how
often they ‘had dinner’, ‘went shopping’, ‘traveled’, or ‘had conversation’ with their husbands. 70
percent of married women said that they often had dinner with their husbands, whereas 32.1 percent ofthem said that they often went shopping with their husbands. The proportion of those who often
traveled with their husbands were only 19.6 percent of all. 50 percent of married women said theyoften talked about their husbands’ work schedule and their plans during weekdays, while only one
third of all married women said they often discussed plans for weekends with their husbands. Thosemarried women who often sought their husbands’ advice on their problems were only one third of all
married women.
Table 18 Communication between husband and wife: Proportions of those who ‘often’ did things with their husbands, by age
Activity
Often have Often go Often
Often talk about husbands’ Often discussed
Often seek
Age of married women
dinnershopping travel
working hours andplans forhusbands’ advice
together
together together plans for weekdays together weekends together on problems
Those in their twenties
77.9%
48.5% 28.4%
70.6%
58.5%
50.4%
Those in their thirties
59.7
38.5
20.6
54.9
45.4
38.2
Those in their forties
62.9
28.2
14.3
45.3
30.9
33.1
Those in their fifties
80.3
30.3
20.8
47.0
30.1
37.1
Those in their sixties
87.1
28.1
22.2
39.8
24.0
37.0
Those in their seventies
89.3
23.0
17.5
37.4
21.9
37.9

Married women in their thirties and forties were less likely to often have dinner with their husbands,
and it would be associated with the career stage of their husbands. In their forties, their husbands were
the ones who took main responsibilities at their work place. As their husbands aged, the proportionof married women who often had dinner with their husbands increased. On the other hand, theemployment status of married women did not seem to affect the frequency of having dinner with theirhusbands.
In any case, long work schedule, which has been traditionally expected for male
Japanese employees, had a noticeable effect on the relationship between husband and wife.
27

Whether or not married women often went shopping with their husbands differed by age groups.
About half of married women in their twenties often went shopping with their husbands, whereas 38.5
percent of married women in their thirties did. The proportion of those who never went shoppingwith their husbands increased as married women aged. Those married women who often traveledwith their husbands was found mostly among those in their twenties. Furthermore, the majority ofmarried women in their twenties talked about their husbands’ work schedule and plans for weekdays
with their husbands. Overall, married women in their twenties seemed to have closer relationships
with their husbands than their older counterparts.
In conclusion, in looking at the level of communication between husband and wife, it was found thatthe younger the married women were, the more likely they were to do things with their husbands.
The proportion of those who wanted to share everything with their husbands decreased as married
women aged.

We asked married women what they thought the ideal relationship between husband and wife. Those
who wished to spend as much time as possible with their husbands were found more in younger
generation, whereas those who wished to respect the time for each other were found more in older
generation. Overall, it seemed that the ideal relationship between husband and wife differed largely
by age groups.

28

2

Decision making in married-couple households

It was more likely that married women took the lead in making decisions about household
matters. Most of their husbands followed the decisions made by married women.

Joint decision making was the most common in purchasing expensive durable consumer goods (48.6
percent), in handling with their parents and other relatives (52.6 percent), and in rearing and educatingof their children (43.0 percent). Husbands were more likely to male decision only when theypurchased durable consumer goods (39.8 percent). Decisions about the household management weremade by wives in most cases; 70 percent of married women made decision on these matters, 35
percent of married women made decision regarding relatives, while half of them did it jointly. As forthe decisions about rearing educating children, more than half of these decisions were made bymarried women, compared with only 3 percent made by their husbands. It appeared that husbands
had little influences in rearing and educating their children.
Table 19 Main decision makers in married-couple households, by living arrangement
IssuesLiving arrangements

Purchases of expensive durable Living with their own parents (the parents of the wife)
consumer goods, such as cars Living with their parents-in-law (the parents of the husband)
Living separately from their parents/parents-in-law
Management of family budget; Living with their own parents (the parents of the wife)
Administration of household
Living with their parents-in-law (the parents of the husband)
Living separately from their parents/parents-in-law
Association with parents
Living with their own parents (the parents of the wife)and other relatives
Living with their parents-in-law (the parents of the husband)
Living separately from their parents/parents-in-law
The rearing and
Living with their own parents (the parents of the wife)
the education of children
Living with their parents-in-law (the parents of the husband)
Living separately from their parents/parents-in-law

The primary decision maker
Wife Husband and wife Husband
15.0%
52.0%
32.9%
6.2
46.2
47.6
12.2
50.6
37.2
77.0
15.1
7.8
64.8
18.9
16.3
72.8
16.7
10.5
40.7
50.0
9.3
31.0
51.4
17.6
37.1
53.1
9.8
58.3
40.4
1.3
50.2
45.9
3.9
54.5
43.0
2.5

Married couples with different living arrangements showed different way of decision making. Whenmarried couples lived with the parents of the wife, only 7.8 percent of husbands had a decisive
influence in the management. On the other hand, when married couples lived with the parents of thehusband, as many as 16.3 percent of husbands made decision in the administration of their household
management. In contrast, 77 percent of married women who lived with their own parents were
decisive of the household management, whereas 68.4 percent of married women who lived with theirparents-in-law did. However, as for rearing and educating children, married women were likely to be
decisive regardless of their living arrangements.
29

6
1

Balancing time between work and childrearing activities

The relationship between the return to work after a child’s birth and work experience prior
to the first childbearing

Those who were engaged in clerical jobs before the first childbearing, and those who were at thelarge companies, were not likely to stay to work after childbirth. The majority of those whostayed to work after childbirth were self-employed or family workers.
56.1 percent of married women had work experience prior to the first childbirth. Among them, 27.3
percent had stayed at work after the childbearing, while 72.8 percent of them stopped their work.
Table 20 Proportions of those who stay
to work over the first childbirth
Whether or not they stay to work over the first childbirth
Continue to work
Stop working
Total

Proportion
27.3%
72.8
100.0
(N=6,039)

It was clear that the chance of staying to work after the first childbirth was largely related to work
experience prior to childbearing (see Figure 21).

The proportion of staying to work after the first childbirth was the highest among those who had been
engaged in agriculture, forestry or fishery (74.1 percent). Similarly, a little less than 70 percent of
those who were self-employed stayed to work after the childbirth. On the contrary, those who had held
clerical positions before childbirth were the least likely to stay to work after the childbirth (19.5
percent). Staying to work after the first childbirth was not common among those who were engaged
in sales job as well (27.6 percent). Even among those who were in professional jobs before
childbirth, only one third stayed at work. This means that a rise in the proportion of women with ahigher education degree did not necessarily lead to an increase in those who stayed to work after
30

childbirth. Among the married women who had held clerical positions before childbirth, those who
had stayed to work were only one fourth of those who had stayed to work among the married women
who were family workers (including agriculture). The proportion of staying to work after childbirthdiffered among those with different work experiences.

By the level of educational attainment, married women with higher education had not necessarily
continued to work. Conversely, a relatively large proportion of those who were not high school
graduates (43.5 percent) continued to work after childbirth, reflecting a large proportion of older
married women who had been engaged in agriculture or other types of family businesses. Married
women who went to junior college were the least likely to have stayed to work after childbirth (20.9
percent). However, even among those with college degree, only one fourth had returned to work
after childbirth. It was observed that the increase in the number of women with higher education did
not necessarily lead to an increase in the number of married women who continued to work afterchildbirth.

31

By the size of firm where married women worked before their first childbearing, those who had
worked for public sector were the most likely to stay to work after a childbirth. Among those who
had worked for public sector before childbirth, 50.4 percent continue to work after childbirth. In
contrast, among those who had worked at large companies with more than 1000 employees before
childbirth, only 13.7 percent had stayed to work after childbirth. Despite the family-friendly policy
advocated by large-scaled firms to improve the working environments for their female employees, it
was found, at the time based on our results of this survey, that their efforts had not necessarily help
them reconcile work with family responsibilities. For most of female employees in large firms,
childbearing is still one of the most serious obstacle against continuing work.. Married women who
had worked for companies containing less than 10 people were much more likely to continue to work
after childbirth. These results suggest that working in a small company could be easy for women tostay to work after childbirth. However, at the same time, we have to take into account the possibility
that these women had stayed to work solely because of their economic necessity. It would be
important to examine the reasons of their staying to work.

32

By living arrangements, married women who lived with their own parents were most likely to havestayed to work after childbirth (40.1 percent). Similarly, among those who lived with theirparents-in-law, 37.4 percent had stayed to work after childbirth. On the contrary, less than 20 percentof those who did not live with their parents or parents-in-law had stayed to work after childbirth.
2

The Pattern of Mothers’ working– difference between the ideal and the reality

The majority of women wished to return to work after the temporal withdrawal from the labor
force related to childbearing infancy of their children continued to represent a large proportion.
Only a small number of married women intend to stay in work without children, so-called‘DINKS (Dual Incomes, No Kids)’.
We divided the pattern of working of married women into 5 different types: (1) DINKS, (2)continuous work, (3) intermittent work, (4) full-time housewives, and (5) others. The ideal and thereality were matching the most for those who had returned to work after the end of the infancy of theirchildren.
Table 21 Labor force participation of married women: The ideal and the reality
Actual pattern of working

Total
population

Total
5,921 (100.0%)
DINKS (Dual Incomes, No Kids)
146 ( 2.5 )Continue to work right over a child’s birth
1,124 ( 19.0 )Return to work after the end of the infancy of their children 2,972 ( 50.2 )Not in labor force
1,211 ( 20.5 )Others468 ( 7.9 )Ideal pattern of working
DINKS
Return to work Return to work
Stay
Others Total(Dual Incomes without
after the temporal at home
, No Kids)
interruption
with drawal
1.8%
17.8%
50.7% 20.9% 8.9% 100.0%
8.2
29.5
43.8
15.8
2.7 100.0
1.5
28.7
45.9
17.1
6.8 100.0
1.6
16.7
54.6
21.2
6.0 100.0
1.9
10.7
53.5
28.5
5.4 100.0
1.9
12.6
31.8
10.3
43.4 100.033

On the other hand, the number of women whose ideal way of working pattern was DINKS was thesmallest. Among married women without children wanted to pursue their current ways of life, morethan 40 percent of DINKS at the time of survey, wished to return to work after childbearing, whereas
less than 30 percent wished to continue to work throughout their family life. It should be noted thatabout one fourth of all married women living as DINKS at the time of survey were in their twenties,
and it is possible that they change their lifestyles in the future. Furthermore, the proportion of those
who thought that being DINKS is the ideal way of living larger among married women in their thirties
and forties than among those in their twenties. A rather traditional characteristic of young married
women was found in the analysis.
Table 22 The ideal participation in labor force, by educational attainment of married women
Ideal pattern of working
Total
DINKS
Return to work Return to work
Stay
population (Dual Incomes without
after the temporal at home Others Total, No Kids)
interruption
withdrawal
Completion of compulsory education
844
1.8%
14.7%
46.3% 21.4% 15.8% 100.0%
High school graduate
8,438
1.8
15.4
53.0
21.9
8.0
100.0
Junior college graduate
1,109
1.6
19.0
51.0
20.8
7.5
100.0
College degree and higher
550
2.7
32.7
46.2
12.9
5.5
100.0
Educational attainment

Those who thought being DINKS was the ideal show a small proportion even among those withhigher education. The majority of those with higher education thought continuous working profile
throughout the family life was the ideal way of working, while only a small proportion of thosethought was their ideal. In contrast, a relatively high proportion of junior-college graduates wasfound in wising full-time housewife, and its proportion is about the same as that any those whocompleted compulsory education and high school.
Majority of mothers who want to return to work was when their youngest children reach theirschool age.
Table 23 Time when mothers with small children wanted to return to work
Plans of married women with small children
Proportion
Did not plan to return to work
11.6%
Wished to return to work as soon as they found a place to take care of their children
6.4
Wished to return to work when their youngest child reached the age to go to a day care cen
9.3
Wished to return to work when their youngest child reached the preschool age
7.6
Wished to return to work when their youngest child reached the school age
18.9
Wished to return to work but did not have any definite plans
36.2
Others
10.1
100.0
Total
(N=892)

We asked married women who had children under the age 6 about their plans for labor force
participation in the future. The majority responded that they wanted to return to work ‘when their
youngest children reach their school age’. Those who wanted to return to work at some point in theirlives but did not have any definite plans also represented a large proportion. Overall, a sizable
proportion of married women with small children wanted to go back to work sooner or later, and when
their youngest children reach their school age seemed to be the most important turning point for themwhen participation in the labor force was considered. These data suggest that mothers were likely towish to participate in the labor force at some point of their lives despite various impediments toworking.

34

Table 24 Desired opening hours of day care centers
Desired time at which day care centers would open
7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 - 6:59
7:59
8:59
9:59

Selected years

Total
population

1998

481

2.3%

39.9%

48.6%

8.7%

0.4%

1993

828

2.7

48.3

41.9

6.0

1.1

Selected years

Total
population

1998

484

1993

828

Desired time at which day care centers would open
15:00 - 16:00 - 17:00 - 18:00 - 19:00 - 20:00 - 21:00 - 14:59
15:59
16:59
17:59
18:59
19:59
20:59
21:59
0.6%
3.3%
10.7%
32.0%
36.2%
10.3%
3.5%
1.7%
0.8

1.6

7.0

32.4

31.6

16.3

5.8

4.0

22:00 1.7%
0.5

Married women with small children who wished to participate in the labor force if they could send
their children to day care centers represented an appreciable proportion as well. 9.3 percent ofmothers of small children said that they would go back to work when their youngest children reached
the age to go to day care, while 6.4 percent responded by saying that they would start working
immediately if they could find some place to take care of their children. Observing a rather highlevel of need in external child care service among these mothers, we asked married women with smallchildren what would be the best time for day care centers to be opened and closed. The majority said
that sometime between 7 am and 9 am would be the most convenient time for day care centers to beopened. As for the best time to be closed, about half said sometime between 7 pm and 8 pm, when
two thirds said it would be the most convenient if day care centers were closed sometime between 6
pm and 7 pm. Those who wanted day care centers to be closed later than 7 pm represented 26.6
percent. Compared to the estimates from the previous survey, those who wanted the center open
until between 7 pm and 8 pm increased by the largest percentage points. As for the best time for day
care centers to be opened, those who wanted day care centers to be opened between 7 pm and 8 pm
increased by the largest percentage points. In conclusion, we see a high demand for daycare centerwith a high extend of flexibility such as an extension of opening hours.

35

7

Attitudes of married women towards family

As we did in the previous survey in 1993, we asked attitudes of married women towards their families,
which included the relationship with their husbands, the rearing of their children, and the relationshipwith their parents/parents-in-law. In the following section, we show changes that occurred in married
women’s perception of themselves and other members of their families between 1993 and 1998.
1

What married women thought about the conventional norms of Japanese families

The proportion of married women who were against ‘Parents in their late adulthood should livewith their sons and their daughters-in-law’ increased by 10 percentage points.
Married people make decisions on their family matters based on the principles and values that they
believe to be the right, proper, or acceptable ways of being a spouse, a parent, or a son ordaughter-in-law. Individuals’ principles and values on such issues are combined and make family
households function in a particular way. In this sense, having a clear picture of what each family
member thinks are the right ways of behaving in the family could be very helpful in predicting future
trends in Japanese families.
We asked married women what were their opinions about some of the conventional norms of Japanesefamilies. We particularly put emphasis on changes that occurred during the period since the previous
survey in 1993.
Overall, married women in 1998 were more critical of these traditional norms than married women in
1993. The most noticeable trend was an increase in the proportion of those who were against‘Parents in their late adulthood should live with their sons and their daughters-in-law’, as well as a risein the proportion of those who were against ‘Boys should be raised as boys and girls should be raised
as girls’, by 11.1 percentage points and 3.8 percentage points, respectively. Similarly, those who
were for ‘Husbands and wives can have different family names’ increased by 4.1 percentage points.
About the relationship with their husbands and their parents/parents-in-law, young married women in
their twenties who did not work at all tended to have rather conventional ways of thinking, as was thecase with the previous survey. As for the relationship with their children, the proportion of those
who put more emphasis on their children than on their personal lives or their marriage lives increased,compared to the estimates from the previous survey.

36

37

2

Married women’s perspective on the traditional norms about being married couple

1 Married women’s attitude toward division o labor between husbands and wives
Married women in their thirties and forties show a lower proportion to support the traditionalroles between husbands and wives.
In looking at the responses to the question ‘Should husbands be the ones to bring income to homes
while their wives concentrate on household chores?’, those who responded negatively (those whocompletely disagreed to the view combined with those who said they would rather disagree if given a
choice) represented a large proportion, the younger the married women were. Among the married
women in their forties, those who expressed positive opinions represented as large a proportion as
those who expressed negative opinions. Among the married women aged 50 and over, those who
agreed to the traditional view represented the majority. The proportion of those who were for theview increased only among those in their twenties, while the proportion declined among those in theirforties and fifties. Although it is worthwhile to notice the fact that about half of married women in
their twenties responded positively to the question, it should also be noted that a majority of themwere not so sure about the view, responding by saying that they would rather agree to the view if givena choice.
Table 25 Married women’s responses to the question ‘Should husbands be the ones to bring income to the homewhile their wives concentrate on household chores’, by age of married women
Age of married women
Total
Age of married women
29 years old and under
30 to 39 years old
40 to 49 years old
50 to 59 years old
60 to 69 years old

Total
population

Agree

1993 1998 1993 1998
5,567 6,608 53.6% 52.3%

Completely
Somewhat agree,
Disagree Somewhat disagree, Completely
agree
if given a choice
if given a choicedisagree
1993
1998
1993
1998
1993 1998
1993
1998
1993
1998
8.3%
7.6% 45.3% 44.7% 46.4% 47.7%
36.2% 37.5% 10.2% 10.2%

570
586 46.2
1,471 1,578 46.8
1,758 1,995 49.3
1,171 1,552 60.8
597
897 76.3

5.1
4.4
5.9
11.6
21.9

48.8
45.4
44.8
59.7
70.0

7.0
4.3
5.3
10.0
14.4

41.1
42.4
43.4
49.2
54.4

41.8
41.1
39.5
49.7
55.6

53.9
53.3
50.7
39.2
23.6

51.2
54.6
55.2
40.3
30.0

41.1
40.0
39.6
31.8
20.4

41.1
41.1
43.7
32.4
24.2

12.8
13.3
11.1
7.4
3.2

70 percent of married women with full-time employment disagreed with the traditional divisionof labor in which married women are supposed to concentrate on household chores. In
contrast, the majority of married women who were not in labor force agreed to the traditional
division of labor.
Married women with some kind of employment were likely to oppose the traditional division of laborin which married women are supposed to concentrate on household chores while their husbands bringhome income. The propotionof disagreement was the highest among those with full-time
employment, followed by those who worked part-time and those who owned or helped their familybusiness. In stark contrast, 60 percent of married women who were not in the labor force agreed tothe traditional division of labor. However, even among those who were not in the labor force, thepercentage share of those who agreed to the view decreased during the period 1993-1999, by 2.5
percentage points.

38

10.1
13.5
11.5
7.9
5.8

Table 26 Married women’s responses to the question ‘Should husbands be the ones to bring incomes to the homewhile their wives concentrate on household chores?’ by employment status of women: Selected years 1993, 1998
Employment
status of married women

Agree

Total population

Full time
Part time
Owned or helped family business
Not in labor force

1993
963
1,001
693
2,492

1998
1993 1998
975
33.7
33.1
849
41.2
41.7
721
53.9
52.7
2,759
65.2
62.7

Completely Somewhat agree, Disagree Somewhat disagree, Completely
agree
if given a choice
if given a choicedisagree1993 1998
1993
1998 1993 1998
1993
1998
1993 1998
4.5
3.3
29.2
29.8 66.4 66.9
45.6
48.6
20.8 18.3
3.8
4.5
37.4
37.2 58.9 58.3
45.9
45.6
13.0 12.7
6.1
6.7
47.8
46.0 46.1 47.3
37.2
37.2
8.9 10.1
11.8
9.5
53.4
53.2 34.9 37.4
29.3
30.9
5.6
6.5

Even married women who were not in the labor force were likely to want their husbands toshare an equal amount of responsibility for household chores and child rearing.
Despite the fact that the majority of married women who were not in the labor force agreed to the
traditional divisions of labor in households, what we obtained as responses from the same population
to the question ‘Should husbands share an equal amount of responsibility for household chores andchild rearing as their wives?’ was rather contradictory. This trend was observed among almost every
age group, although those in their twenties were a bit more likely to agree to the view compared totheir counterparts in other age groups. Married women in 1998 were more likely to want theirhusbands to take a more active part in household work and child rearing than married women in 1994.
By employment status of married women, 80 percent of married women with full-time employment
thought their husbands should take an equal amount of responsibility for household chores and childrearing as they did. Even among those married women who did not work at all, 70 percent, which
was the same percentage share as in 1993, thought the view was agreeable. These data suggest thatmarried women who did not work tended to want their husbands to take an active part in householdchores and child rearing, fulfilling the role as a breadwinner at the same time. Married women who
were not in the labor force did not necessarily believe that they should concentrate on householdchores and child rearing. Rather, a tendency to avoid shouldering all the responsibility involved inhousehold work and child rearing was observed among married women who did not participate in thelabor force.
Table 27 Married women’s responses to the question ‘Should husbands share the equal amount of responsibility
for household work and child rearing as their wives?’, by age and employment status of married women: Selected years 1993, 1998
Age of married women;
Employment status of married
women

Total
population

1993 1998
Total
5,579 6,602
Age of married women
29 years old and under
574 588
30 to 39 years old
1,470 1,582
40 to 49 years old
1,765 1,994
50 to 59 years old
1,172 1,558
60 to 69 years old
598 880
Employment
status of married women
Full time
966 981
Part time
1,006 849
Owned or helped family business 697 725
Not in labor force
2,496 2,741

Agree1993 1998 1993
74.0% 76.7% 19.0%

Somewhat agree,
Disagree Somewhat disagree,
Completely disagree
if given a choice
if given a choice
1998
1993
1998 1993 1998
1993
1998
1993
1998
20.1% 55.0% 56.6% 25.9% 23.3%
23.2%
21.5%
2.7%
1.8%

77.7
79.1
74.1
69.8
65.9

80.4
77.9
77.8
73.2
75.7

24.0
22.6
19.3
14.8
12.9

24.1
23.8
21.2
16.1
15.1

53.7
56.5
54.8
55.0
53.0

56.3
54.1
56.6
57.1
60.6

22.3
20.9
25.8
30.1
34.1

19.5
22.1
22.3
26.7
24.4

19.0
18.8
23.7
26.7
29.8

17.5
20.9
20.6
24.3
22.2

3.3
2.1
2.1
3.4
4.3

2.0
1.2
1.7
2.4
2.2

83.8
76.9
72.0
70.0

85.0
80.4
76.9
72.1

28.9
21.7
14.8
15.6

30.7
21.6
20.6
15.1

54.9
55.2
57.2
54.4

54.3
58.8
56.3
57.0

16.2
23.2
28.0
30.0

15.0
19.7
23.2
27.9

15.0
21.5
25.7
26.2

13.6
18.6
22.1
25.5

1.2
1.7
2.3
3.8

1.4
1.1
1.1
2.4

Completely agree39

2

Responses to the traditional view that says ‘married couples are socially accepted for the firsttime when they become parents’.

The majority of married women in their twenties did not believe in the view that married
couples have to become parents to be socially accepted as respectable married couples.
Young married women were likely to disagree with the view that ‘married couples have to become
parents to be socially accepted’, whereas the majority of married women 60 years and over believed in
the same view. This diverging trend was observed as well in 1993. Responses to this question
differed most among different age groups, and those who expressed negative opinions to the view
were greater for those in their twenties than those in their sixties by as many as 35 percentage points.
Overall, married women in their twenties were likely to be opposed to the view which equals having
children with being respectable married Japanese citizens.
Table 28 Married women’s responses to the question ‘Should married couples become parents to be socially accepted
as respectable married couples’, by age: Selected years 1993, 1998
Age of married women
Total
Age of married women
29 years old and under
30 to 39 years old
40 to 49 years old
50 to 59 years old
60 to 69 years old

Total
population

Agree

1993 1998 1993 1998
5,511 6,487 41.1% 39.4%

1993
13.2%

Somewhat agree,
Disagree Somewhat disagree,
Completely disagree
if given a choice
if given a choice
1998
1993
1998
1993 1998
1993
1998
1993
1998
11.0% 27.9% 28.4% 58.9% 60.6%
30.1%
32.5%
28.8%
28.1%

572 584
1,474 1,578
1,742 1,974
1,145 1,511
578 840

6.5
7.5
12.2
19.0
26.0

5.0
7.0
8.9
14.1
22.1

28.5
32.2
40.7
50.5
58.9

23.8
29.6
36.8
48.8
58.2

Completely agree

22.0
24.7
28.5
31.5
32.9

18.8
22.6
27.9
34.7
36.1

71.5
67.8
59.3
49.5
41.1

76.2
70.5
63.2
51.1
41.8

40.2
35.5
29.2
23.7
22.1

41.3
36.5
35.1
26.9
22.5

31.3
32.3
30.1
25.8
19.0

Married women who equated being parents with being respectable married couples were foundmore among those who had gone through the rearing of their children.
Our first expectation was that married women with small children should be most likely to agree to theview that married couples should be parents to be socially accepted as respectable married people.
However, it turned out the majority of married women with small children were opposed to the view.
Rather, married women who had finished the rearing of their children were more likely to agree withthis view. It could be asserted that the age of married women, rather than the level of development of
their children, was the deciding factor to whether or not married women agreed with the view which
equated being parents with being respectable married people. It should also be noted that, theyounger the married women’s children were, the more likely married women had negative opinions
about the view. Married women without children were most likely to oppose the view, as in theprevious survey in 1993.

40

34.9
34.0
28.1
24.2
19.3

Table 29 Married women’s responses to the question ‘Should married couples become parents to be socially accepted
as respectable married couples’, by the age of their youngest children: Selected years 1993, 1998
The age of theyoungest childrenof married women
Under 1 year old
Under 3 years old
Under 6 years old
Under 12 years old
Under 18 years old
18 years and overNo children

3

Total population
1993
238
477
491
810
898
1,726
462

Agree

DisagreeSomewhat disagree,
Completely Somewhat agree,
if given a choice
if given a choiceagree1993 1998
1993
1998
1993 1998
1993
1998
7.1
4.4
23.9
21.0 68.9 74.6
39.5
43.1
9.4
5.5
28.1
21.4 62.5 73.1
31.9
38.9
7.7
7.2
25.9
23.4 66.4 69.3
38.5
36.3
7.5
7.2
26.9
27.3 65.6 65.6
34.1
37.9
11.9
10.0
29.2
27.4 58.9 62.7
27.7
35.0
18.9
15.4
31.7
34.7 49.3 49.9
25.6
26.7
6.1
5.0
16.0
15.0 77.9 80.0
34.8
33.3

1998 1993 1998
181 31.0 25.4
532 37.5 26.9
512 33.6 30.6
922 34.4 34.5
972 41.1 37.4
2,512 50.6 50.1
525 22.1 20.0

Completely
disagree
1993
1998
29.4
31.5
30.6
34.2
27.9
33.0
31.5
27.7
31.2
27.7
23.7
23.2
43.1
46.7

Married women’s views on child rearing

About 80 percent of married women thought parents should give the first priority to theirchildren.
In 1993, more than 70 percent of married women agreed with the view that ‘parents should give thefirst priority to their children, even if that may sacrifice their personal desires’. In 1998, theproportion of those who believed in this opinion increased to 80 percent. This high level of supportof this view was observed regardless of the age of married women, the age of their youngest children,
and whether or not their children reach to the school age. However, married women with children
under the age 6 were a little more likely to support the view than their counterparts with older children
or those without children. Special attention should be paid to the fact that, even among married
women without children, 70 percent agreed with this view, as was the case with the previous survey.
Table 30 Married women’s responses to the question ‘Should parents give the first priority to their children even
if that may sacrifice their personal desires?’, by selected characteristics: Selected years 1993, 1998
Characteristics of married women
Total
Age of married women
29 years old and under
30 to 39 years old
40 to 49 years old
50 to 59 years old
60 to 69 years old
Employment
status of married women
Full time
Part time
Owned or helped family business
Not in labor force
The age of the youngest
children of married women
Under 1 year old
Under 3 years old
Under 6 years old
Under 12 years old
Under 18 years old
18 years and overNo children

Total
population

Agree

1993 1998 1993 1998
5,533 6,558 72.8% 77.2%

Disagree Somewhat disagree, Completely
Completely Somewhat agree,
if given a choice
if given a choiceagree
disagree
1993
1998
1993
1998
1993 1998
1993
1998
1993 1998
15.1% 14.5% 57.7% 62.7% 27.1% 22.8%
23.3%
20.7% 3.8% 2.1%

569
589 79.0
1,470 1,581 71.4
1,746 1,978 69.1
1,164 1,531 72.3
584
879 83.2

83.3
80.5
72.8
74.3
82.0

20.7
12.4
11.0
16.5
26.4

24.4
14.5
11.4
12.6
18.1

58.3
59.0
58.1
55.8
56.8

58.9
66.0
61.4
61.7
63.9

20.9
28.5
31.0
27.7
16.8

16.6
19.4
27.1
25.8
18.0

18.3
24.4
26.9
23.7
13.7

14.6
17.6
24.7
23.4
16.5

2.6
4.1
4.1
4.0
3.1

2.0
1.8
2.4
2.4
1.5

963
968
1,000
847
682
720
2,476 2,727

70.1
71.6
72.5
74.0

73.8
73.2
75.5
80.5

12.1
12.3
15.0
16.4

11.9
12.5
13.3
16.3

58.0
59.3
57.5
57.6

61.9
60.7
62.2
64.2

29.8
28.4
27.6
26.0

26.3
26.8
24.5
19.5

25.1
24.0
24.5
22.2

24.1
24.3
21.7
18.0

4.7
4.4
3.1
3.8

2.2
2.5
2.8
1.5

235
183 80.4
479
529 81.2
487
516 73.7
814
934 71.7
896
980 69.6
1,751 2,572 75.0458
507 59.8

83.0
86.4
81.0
76.3
76.2
76.5
66.7

18.3
17.3
16.6
10.8
11.2
17.9
8.5

28.4
20.4
16.1
12.8
12.4
13.7
9.5

62.1
63.9
57.1
60.9
58.4
57.1
51.3

54.6
66.0
64.9
63.5
63.8
62.8
57.2

19.6
18.8
26.3
28.2
30.4
25.0
40.1

16.9
13.6
19.0
23.6
23.7
23.4
33.3

16.2
16.5
24.2
24.4
25.2
22.2
31.4

15.8
11.9
16.5
21.5
22.0
21.5
29.4

3.4
2.3
2.1
3.8
5.2
2.8
8.7

1.1
1.7
2.5
2.1
1.7
1.9
3.9

41

The overwhelming majority of married women supported the view that mothers with children
should concentrate on child rearing.
In 1993, among all the questions we asked married women, the question ‘Should mothers withchildren concentrate on child rearing and not be distracted by work’ drew the largest proportion of
positive responses from married women. In 1998, we made a slight change in the wording of thequestion and asked married women whether or not they thought ‘mothers with children under the age
3 should concentrate on child rearing and should not be distracted by work’. 90 percent of married
women supported the view, and 50 percent expressed absolute agreement. It should be noted thatmarried women did not express this level of support for any other questions on the questionnaire.
This trend was observed for married women in every age group, but married women in their forties
were most likely to support the view.
By employment status, a relatively large proportion of married women with full-time employment
supported the view, although its figure was lower than that among married women who were not in thelabor force, that is, 93 points. Even among those who were employed full time, 80 percent supported
this view, and it may be derived from their hidden desire to concentrate on the rearing of their smallchildren.
Table 31 Married women’s responses to the question ‘Should mothers with children under the age 3 concentrateon child rearing and not be distracted by work’, by age and employment status of married women: Selected years 1993, 1998
Characteristics
of married women
Total
Age of married women
29 years old and under
30 to 39 years old
40 to 49 years old
50 to 59 years old
60 to 69 years old
Employment
status of married women
Full time
Part time
Owned or helped family business
Not in labor force

4

Total
population

Agree

DisagreeSomewhat disagree,
Completely Somewhat agree,
if given a choice
if given a choiceagree1993 1998 1993 1998 1993 1998
1993
1998
1993 1998
1993
1998
5,621 6,626 89.1% 90.1% 44.7% 50.7% 44.4% 39.4% 11.0% 9.9%
8.8%
7.7%

Completely
disagree1993 1998
2.2% 2.2%

572
587 83.4
1,478 1,588 84.9
1,775 1,993 89.2
1,190 1,575 93.3
606
883 95.7

85.5
84.9
90.2
94.7
94.2

34.4
31.7
47.1
54.6
59.6

39.7
39.1
50.9
59.9
62.3

49.0
53.2
42.1
38.7
36.1

45.8
45.8
39.3
34.8
31.9

16.6
15.1
10.7
6.7
4.3

14.5
15.1
9.8
5.3
5.8

14.2
11.8
8.3
5.7
3.8

11.4
11.7
7.2
4.2
5.2

2.4
3.3
2.4
1.0
0.5

3.1
3.4
2.6
1.1
0.6

969
984 76.3
1,015
850 89.0703
731 91.2
2,513 2,754 93.2

79.5
89.6
90.2
93.4

31.2
46.7
44.5
48.2

36.8
48.7
47.9
54.8

45.1
42.3
46.7
45.0

42.7
40.9
42.3
38.6

23.8
11.1
8.8
6.7

20.5
10.3
9.9
6.5

18.0
9.3
7.0
5.7

15.0
8.1
7.7
5.4

5.8
1.8
1.8
1.0

5.5
2.2
2.2
1.1

Married women’s views on relationships between grown-up children and their parents in thelate adulthood

The proportion of married women who believed that parents in their late adulthood should livewith their sons and their daughters-in-law decreased among all age groups by 10 percentage
points or more.
The largest proportion of negative responses was obtained from the question ‘Should parents in theirlate adulthood live with their sons and their daughters-in-law?’ in 1998. Overall, the proportion of
those who supported the view dropped by 11.1 percentage points. In 1993, those who supported theview represented 60 percent of all married women, whereas in 1998, those who opposed the view
increased to the level as those who were for the view were not the majority any longer. Among
married women in their twenties, thirties and forties, the trend reversed in favor of those who wereagainst the view. Among married women in their forties, the proportion of those who supported theview declined by 13.5 percentage points. These data suggest that not only married women inyounger generations, but also married women in older generations, did not think that parents in the42late adulthood should live with their sons and their daughters-in-law. The relatively larger proportionof those who were against the view among married women in their forties may be fear of because they
are afraid of the possibility of co-residence with their parents in the near future. .
Even among the married women in areas with low population density who actually lived with
their parents-in-law, the proportion of those who supported that view that ‘parents in their lateadulthood should live with their sons and daughters-in-law’ was decreasing.
In examing the level of agreement with the view by population density of areas, we found that, those
who lived in the areas with low population density, than those who lived in the areas with highpopulation density, were more likely to support the view. An increase in the proportion of those who
were against the view by about 10 percentage points was observed in almost all areas. In areas withhigh population density, the proportion of those who were against the view surpassed the percentage
share of those who were for the view, reversing the trend in favor of those who opposed the view. By
living arrangements, a decrease by about 10 percentage points in the proportion of those who
supported the view was observed not only for those who did not live with their parents/parents-in-law,
but also for those who actually lived with their parents/parents-in-law. Among married women who
did not live with their parents/parents-in-law, those who were against the view represented more than
50 percent.
Table 32 Married women’s responses to the question ‘Should parents in the late adulthoodlive with their sons and their daughters-in-law?’, by age, areas, living arrangement. Selected years 1998, 1993
Characteristics
of married women
Total
Age of married women
29 years old and under
30 to 39 years old
40 to 49 years old
50 to 59 years old
60 to 69 years old
Areas of living
Areas withlow population density
Areas withhigh population density
Living arrangement
Living with their parents
or parents-in-law
Living separatelyfrom their parents orparents-in-law

Total
population

DisagreeSomewhat disagree, Completely
Completely Somewhat agree,
if given a choice
if given a choiceagree
disagree1993 1998 1993 1998 1993 1998
1993
1998
1993 1998
1993
1998
1993 1998
5,541 6,536 61.5% 50.4% 14.4% 8.2% 47.1%
42.2% 38.5% 49.6%
31.0%
38.8% 7.5% 10.8%
565 581
1,453 1,566
1,746 1,978
1,174 1,528
603 883

Agree

58.8
53.0
60.7
69.9
70.7

45.4
44.0
47.2
57.6
60.1

9.4
8.3
13.9
20.7
22.9

5.5
5.2
6.8
10.7
14.6

49.4
44.7
46.8
49.2
47.8

39.9
38.8
40.4
46.9
45.5

41.3
46.9
39.3
30.1
29.3

54.6
56.1
52.8
42.5
39.8

29.4
36.5
32.1
25.4
26.5

42.0
41.3
41.5
34.9
32.8

11.9
10.4
7.2
4.7
2.8

12.6
14.8
11.3
7.6
7.0

1,933 2,212 70.2

59.4

18.8

11.7

51.4

47.7

29.7

40.6

23.1

33.6

6.6

7.0

3,608 4,324 56.8

45.9

12.0

6.5

44.8

39.4

43.2

54.1

35.2

41.4

8.0

12.7

1,385 1,342 67.4

59.4

16.0

10.6

51.4

48.8

32.5

40.6

25.3

31.6

7.2

9.0

3,175 3,840 55.5

44.5

10.9

5.4

44.6

39.1

44.5

55.5

35.5

43.2

9.0

12.3

Even among those married women who lived in rural areas and actually lived with theirparents/parents-in-law, those who were against the view that parents in the late adulthood should livewith their sons and their daughters-in-law increased, reflecting the trend against the decline ofcoresidence with parents. Responses to the question ‘Should parents in need of special care be takencare of by their families?’ appeared rather contradictory to the data presented above. Overall, threefourths of all married women supported the views, and the proportion of those who were for the view
was the highest among married women in their twenties, bottoming out among married women in theirforties. These data suggest that married women who were opposed to the view that old parents
should live with sons and their daughters-in-law did not necessarily disagree to the view that old
parents in need of special care should be taken care of by their families.
43

Table 33 Married women’s responses to the questions ‘Should old parents in need of special carebe taken care of by their families’, by age: Selected years 1993, 1998
Age of married women

Total
Agree
population

Total
Age of married women
29 years old and under
30 to 39 years old
40 to 49 years old
50 to 59 years old
60 to 69 years old

6,569

Completely Somewhat agree, Disagree Somewhat disagree, Completely
agree
if given a choice
if given a choicedisagree
74.8%
15.8%
59.0%
25.2%
21.0%
4.2%

585
1,569
1,981
1,546
888

83.2
76.6
69.5
74.9
77.6

20.5
15.0
12.2
16.6
20.5

62.7
61.6
57.3
58.3
57.1

16.7
23.4
30.4
25.2
22.4

13.3
19.0
25.8
21.0
19.1

3.4
4.4
4.6
4.2
3.3

The proportion of those who were for the view that ‘the elderly with economic difficulties should
be supported by their families’ increased as married women aged.
Lastly, we asked married women whether or not they support the view that ‘the elderly with economic
difficulties should be supported by their families’. The proportion of those who opposed the view
decreased as married women aged. However, the proportion of those who were for the view was
higher among those in their twenties than among those in their thirties and forties. This same trend
was observed in 1993.
Table 34 Married women’s responses to the question ‘Should the elderly with economic difficulties be taken care of by their families?
by age of married women: Selected years 1993, 1998
Age of married women

Total
population

1993
Total
5,518
Age of married women
29 years old and under 566
30 to 39 years old
1,462
40 to 49 years old
1,734
50 to 59 years old
1,161
60 to 69 years old
595

Agree

1998
6,529

1993
1998
30.9% 29.7%

Completely
Somewhat agree,
DisagreeSomewhat disagree,
Completely
agree
if given a choice
if given a choicedisagree1993 1998
1993
1998
1993 1998
1993
1998
1993
1998
5.1% 4.4%
25.8%
25.3% 69.1% 70.3%
45.5%
49.9% 23.6% 20.4%

581
1,567
1,971
1,533
877

28.6
23.3
29.7
35.8
45.6

3.0
1.8
5.2
7.4
10.1

29.0
23.4
24.7
35.9
41.5

4.6
2.4
3.1
5.6
8.4

25.6
21.5
24.5
28.4
35.5

44

24.4
21.0
21.6
30.3
33.1

71.4
76.7
70.3
64.2
54.5

71.0
76.5
75.3
64.1
58.5

53.0
49.0
44.6
43.7
36.0

52.2
52.8
53.4
45.5
42.9

18.4
27.7
25.7
20.5
18.5

18.8
23.7
21.9
18.6
15.6