This study describes the attitudes of Japanese housewives toward women's employment, and compares them with those of American housewives. A questionnaire was designed to assess beliefs and attitudes related to women's roles in work and family life. It was translated into Japanese for purposes of comparison. Questionnaires were administered to over…

Discusses the status of women in contemporary Japan. Describes their role as mothers and homemakers, the obstacles they face in maintaining developing careers, and the discrimination they face in a patriarchal society. (Author/ABB)

The changing role of Japanese women can be seen in the stages of a domestic labor debate which occurred at three different times in the past 30 years. The first debate began with Ayako Ishigaki's (1955) insistence that women should have a job outside the home. Wartime production helped break down traditional divisions of labor by encouraging women…

Until the 1970s, social norms dictated that women provided care for their families and men were employed for pay. The rapid increase in paid work for women has resulted in an untenable model of work and care in which all employees are assumed to be unencumbered with family responsibilities and women who care for their families are dismissed as…