Akiko Usuda

Husbands' Inconsistencies and Resistance: Japanese Husbands' Views on Employment of Married Women Akiko Usuda

Why are so few full-time working mothers in Japan? Previous studies have addressed this issue from perspectives of social security or insufficient childcare. However, Akiko Usuda thought that their husbands are the toughest obstacles for married women to enter labor force. Therefore, this book investigated Japanese married men's views on their wives' employment and married women's employment in general. Approximately 300 married men in Tokyo and Kawasaki area were researched with unique questions. This book revealed that these Japanese husbands? participation in housework and childcare and also how they do in accordance with their preferences and their expressed abilities. In addition, the author demonstrated how husbands perceived their wife?s involvement in volunteer work, activism and entering school, because these also empower wives. This insightful book will provide better understanding for the readers who are interested in sociology, feminism, as well as Japanese studies.