Over half of Japanese women fed up with their husbands for not doing enough chores, failing to meet standards

It was the highest level of dissatisfaction among Japanese women recorded by the Tokyo-based institute since it began the study three years ago.

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Some 16.7 per cent of the 510 respondents said their husbands did “enough” and that they were satisfied with their efforts, while 28 per cent said their partners did “a little and I have no complaints”.

Equally, the levels of content among Japanese wives were the lowest recorded.

“My husband does not cook, he does not do the washing, and he never cleans the house,” said Fumiyo Hayashi, a 51-year-old resident in Yokohama city. “I admit that he takes the rubbish out every morning, but he does that as he’s on the way out the door anyway.

“I wish he would do more, but at least we do not argue over the housework,” she told This Week in Asia.

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Hayashi’s husband works long hours in his job at a major car manufacturer, but she points out that she also has two part-time jobs to boost the family’s finances and she often gets home tired as well. And then she has to prepare dinner and tidy up.

“On the plus side, if I ever tell him that I’m tired after work, he always says we should go out to dinner so I can have the night off,” she said.

The complaints listed in the Shufu Job Shoken study ranged from the very specific – “he doesn’t unroll his balled-up socks and leaves them on the floor instead of putting them in the washing machine” – to more general accusations, such as not tidying up or neglecting parenting duties.

Some women said their husbands “lacked awareness” of the household chores that needed to be done, meaning that the tasks were overlooked until their wives stepped in. Another source of friction was men failing to meet their wives’ standards.

That is something that resonates with Takako Tomura, 43, from Kanagawa prefecture.

“My husband is actually pretty good around the home, and he regularly cleans the bathroom, toilet and genkan entranceway to our apartment,” she said. “I appreciate that because he works hard and puts in long hours, so that is a help for me as I also have a part-time job.

“But sometimes I think I could do the jobs around the house quicker and better than him,” she said. “So I wait until he has gone out and I do things the way I want them done. I appreciate his efforts but I’ll still do it again.”

Sumia Kawakami, an instructor at Yamanashi Gakuin University who focuses on women and gender issues, said there has been a gradual change in attitudes among families in Japan and that couples from younger generations are better at sharing responsibilities around the home.

“In the past, women were usually either on the ‘career track’ or the ‘mummy track’ and those who prioritised a family over a career found themselves working at home and bringing up the children,” she said.

“But I am optimistic that is changing,” she added. “I see young men doing more in the home and picking up the kids from preschool, which would not have been the case a few years ago.

“The difference in attitudes is not simply generational, but the amount of money a couple earns is also important,” she added.

“People in highly-paid jobs can afford to take time off, but there are many people who are stuck in low-paid positions and who come home from one job and immediately have to go to their next one. These people often don’t have the time or energy to do the housework.”