Japanese city apologises for advising pregnant women to clean and cook

Japan’s gender gap index ranking is 125 out of 146

A town in Japan caused national fury for distributing flyers that encouraged pregnant women to cook, clean, and tend to their husbands.

In 2017, Onomichi City conducted a survey, gathering results to use for the production and distribution of flyers targeted at pregnant women. According to the city’s website, the postings were handed out to residents with the overarching message that household roles need to be divided between the husband and wife.

One flyer claimed men and women feel and think differently from one another because they have a “structural difference” in the way their brains are set up.

“It is known that men act based on theories, while women act based on emotions,” the flyer read. “The important thing is to understand each others’ differences and divide roles well.”

The flyer continued on to note how married men and new fathers love to feel appreciation for doing household tasks like changing diapers and cleaning the dishes. However, the message suggested women not bother men if they are taking care of their children rather than cooking or cleaning. Instead of getting frustrated with their husband, women were encouraged to please them by smiling, greeting them, giving them massages, taking control of the housework, caring for the children, and preparing lunch for them.

After local news stations broadcasted reports of the flyers around the city, the documents were widely criticised online over the idea that childcare is the mother’s responsibility.

“Stress is the enemy during pregnancy, so why exactly are they only attacking women?” an angry person wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “A letter from an experienced mum to a new dad would probably be a hundred million times more helpful.”

“It’s bad enough that local authorities are transmitting the idea that childcare is the mother’s job and that a third-party father’s assistance will help the mother,” another individual added before suggesting that fathers should be identified as “main actors in childcare” too.

Among the population of viewers, a few people drew connections between the flyers’ messages and Japan’s old-fashioned gender norms, which have been linked to the country’s diminishing population rate.

Because the content on the flyers was based on the results of a survey, one user on the X platform thought that meant “this is what men really think”. They said: “Most men think that childcare is someone else’s business, wives are supposed to do the housework, don’t neglect looking after their husbands, don’t upset their husbands … You’d better not get married.”

On 25 July, the city’s mayor Yukihiro Hiratani posted a public statement on the government website to apologise. He said that the flyers “were not in line with the sentiments of pregnant women, childbearing mothers, and others involved in child rearing, and caused unpleasant feelings for many people”. Furthermore, because the message contained “expressions that promote attitudes and practices that stereotype gender roles,” the mayor clarified the posters weren’t being handed out anymore.

The Independent has contacted Hiratani for a comment.

Per the World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report for 2023, Japan is one of the lowest countries in the world in terms of gender equality in the political realm. Only 12.9 per cent of manager and senior positions are filled by women, while Japan’s overall gender gap index ranking was 125 out of 146.