Final Report
Japanese Human Geography

“Working mom” in Japan

According to the Japan Times, in the recent survey, it is found that 40 percent of respondents in their 20s to 40s believe husbands should work full time while their wives stay at home. Of all the male respondents, more than 64 percent said women should concentrate on parenting while their children are very young, and surprisingly, female respondents who supported that view reached 71 percent. The number of total respondents was 3,616. The results are unexpected and surprising when we consider the current policy Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is working on, to increase the ratio of women in the workforce as part of his government’s growth strategy. He promised to create a better environment for women to exert their talents, saying their power is a vital engine of his economic policies. However, regardless of the current efforts Abe is putting on, current situation is apparently not good for women to continue working after childbirth. According to 2013 survey figures, about 3.15 million Japanese women who want to work remain unemployed and more than 60percent of the women surveyed said that they quit work after giving birth because of the lack of support for working mothers. Even though Japanese people are renowned with their mature sense of civic awareness, women’s right issues still remain a concern and living as a “working mom”, seems to be extremely tough especially in the contemporary Japanese society. In the society where half of the university graduates are female but only 67% of these women have jobs many of which are part-timers or involve serving tea, is there a really solution for those “minorities”? The biggest reason for tough lives for working moms are said to be Japan’s rigid work schedules and societal expectations towards them. Almost all the Japanese women who stick with careers think Japan’s work styles don’t mix well with the demands at home. There are societal expectations towards mother in Japanese society that they have to take care of not only the children but also of aging relatives. Very few of them get much help from their husbands which clearly shows the reality of the low status of women and female right in Japan. On average, Japanese working moms spend 4 hours on chores and housework including cleaning, cooking, taking care of their family and etc. Meanwhile, fathers spend barely 30 minutes. The feasible and effective way of helping those working moms is structural reforms of companies and moreover society. Companies are losing numerous talented female workers because of this lack of flexibility. Two-thirds of the women surveyed said that they would not have quit their jobs if companies had flexible work arrangements. Male workers in the companies normally expect female workers to leave the companies on the same time with them, and expect them to be there when they call them. They don’t understand why female workers have to leave early to pick up their children from schools or day-care centers. It is extremely ironic that at the same time they expect their wives to take care of their children, and to do all the house work. This ridiculously irrational symbol of motherhood in Japan is because the Japanese culture deems a woman to be fully grown up after they get married and have a baby. This is not something that can be recorded on paper or statistically proved but a permanent feeling triggered by judgments that constantly make about women. There is even this special term called “ryosai kenbou” which is a good wife and wise mother in English. The act of childbirth itself is considered as part of the judgment and assessments of being a real woman in Japan. No matter how smart and socially successful women are, if they are not successful with child bearing, they are not considered as a good person. What working mothers really need is a complete reform of Japanee society models and a common effort towards accepting them as an indispensable part of the labor force. Some talented young women are going to the global companies because of the better working conditions there, still a huge number of female workers are losing jobs after getting married. The complete societal reform is needed and the recognition people commonly have towards them has to be changed. Even though structural reform in the society is what necessary and the strongest method for Japan to get rid of the recognition of wise mother, however, the culture is too deep rooted and will take too much time to eradicate it and it’s rather long-view solution. Therefore while doing a campaign and educating children from their young age about the gender equality, something more feasible and effective method is needed. This naturally leads to the government policy of Japan. In fact, current prime minister of Japan has come up with a lot of women-friendly policies, and Abe has vowed to dramatically increase the number of day care centers so women can work after having children. The goal is to accommodate 200,000 more children nationwide by 2015 and another 200,000 by 2017. Also, he is trying to have maternity leave extended to a maximum of three years from the current 18 months and ensure they get enough support to return to the workforce. Even though many mothers have welcomed and appreciated his efforts to bring female power back to the workforce, however, his grand lofty scheme, doubts prevail over it about the feasibility and possibility of it change corporate culture that values long working hours. Also, there is a huge loophole in this policy. He is trying to increase the quantity of the day care centers, however, what about the quality of them? It is not feasible enough to make both quality and quantity go up in that short period of time. Municipalities are generally reluctant to spend money on setting up more nurseries and private facilities which are already established are trying to protect their turf and entering the market has actually been really tough.