Processes of Gender-Unequal Childcare in Japan: Evidence from an Internet Blog Analysis

Yuka Minagawa, Sophia University
Dennis Koyama, Sophia Univeristy
Holly Hummer, Harvard University

The gendered division of housework, namely childcare, remains salient in Japan. Exemplified by the popular term wan ope (one-operator childcare), one parent, typically the mother, manages childcare without much help from the other parent, often the father. In this paper, we thematically analyze a unique dataset of 481 online blog posts about individuals’ childcare experiences to examine mechanisms underlying persistent inequalities in the division of childcare duties between men and women in Japan. Although we find generous evidence of wan ope childcare, which we argue is caused by external circumstances such as long work hours and work transfers, we further identify an undertheorized form of parenting that we call subtractive parenting. Seventy-one blog posts, written by 56 individuals, suggest that some men deliberately withdraw from parenting responsibilities despite their physical presence and ability to contribute, leaving women to carry the physical and emotional burdens of childcare alone. These findings have profound implications for women’s well-being and offer evidence of how gender inequality in the division of household responsibilities is reproduced in contemporary Japan.

Keywords: Gender Dynamics, Families, Unions and Households, Children, Adolescents, and Youth

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