Japanese Women Perform Household Labor Worth 1002 Trillion Won... Four Times More Than Men

It has been revealed that Japanese women spend four times more time on household chores per day compared to men. Their daily household labor time amounts to 224.3 minutes, which Bloomberg reported is equivalent to 111 trillion yen (1002.74 trillion won) when converted into wages.

Citizens are crossing the crosswalk in Ginza, Tokyo, Japan. [Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

On the 4th, Bloomberg cited labor statistics released by the Japanese Cabinet Office and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), stating that the average daily household labor time for Japanese men is 41 minutes. This is the lowest level among the 30 countries surveyed by the OECD. In contrast, Japanese women were found to spend an average of 224.3 minutes per day on household chores, which is 3 hours more unpaid labor compared to men.

South Korea showed a similar level to Japan. The average daily household labor time for Korean women was 215 minutes, while men spent only 49 minutes on household chores, which is 8 minutes more than Japanese men. In Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, the difference in household labor time between men and women was found to be less than one hour.

Since women spend more time on household chores, Japanese women also spend less time on paid labor compared to men. Japanese men spend 451.8 minutes on paid labor, whereas women spend only 271.5 minutes. When combining unpaid and paid labor time, men work 492.6 minutes, and women work 495.8 minutes. This means women spend 200 minutes more on unpaid labor than men due to household chores.

Bloomberg stated that when the unpaid labor time of women is converted into wages, it amounts to 111 trillion yen annually. This is about 15% of Japan's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In contrast, when men’s household labor is converted into wages, it amounts to 32 trillion yen, which is less than one-third of the women’s amount.

Experts suggest that if the value of women’s unpaid labor is added to the average wage, Japan’s gender wage gap could be eliminated. The wage equivalent of Japanese women’s unpaid labor time is estimated to be 2 million yen per person.

Bloomberg pointed out, "The number of dual-income households in Japan exceeds that of single-income households by about twice, reaching 12.6 million households," but also noted, "Women spend about four times more time on housework than men, meaning they are missing out on 111 trillion yen in wages for their unpaid labor."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.