In Japan, Women are Happier than Men!

There are only a few female politicians in Japan. In the workplace, men hold most of the important executive positions. The work offered to women is generally in the realm of assisting male staff and carrying out routine duties. Women's positions in the Japanese workplace are relatively low compared to men's.

In most cases, female staff prepare tea for guests who visit the company. In general when a party is held, only men participate, which is different from western countries where couples often attend functions together. The position of Japanese women in public places in Japan is quite low. Non-Japanese who observe this situation are likely to think Japan is a male-dominated country.

So, are Japanese women unhappier than men? According to a survey about happiness carried out by the Institute of Social and Economic Research at Osaka University in February 2004, (where 10 = "Very happy" and 0 = "Very unhappy"), the average score for the men's degree of happiness was 6.27, while for women it was 6.51, ie: women feel happier than men. In the job category, full-time housewives ranked as the happiest people with a score of 6.7.

According to the "Public Survey about Living for Citizens" carried out by the Cabinet Office in June 2004, 56.2% of men answered "satisfactory" about their present lives, compared to 62.9% of women. So, women rank higher in this survey also. In the job category, housewives scored the highest at 65.9 %.

Through these surveys, a clear picture emerges that women feel happier, especially housewives who appear to be enjoying their lives more than others. Japanese women, who serve men and appear to be forced to do "back seat" tasks such as housework, actually feel happier in daily life.

Japan is a job share society between men and women
Behind these results lies the traditional concept in Japan that men work outside and women work inside. In other words, their roles are split as men work in public places and women work in private. You could say Japan is not a male-dominated country but a "job share society" based on the cooperation between men and women.

The Japanese home is the wife's territory and it is natural that the wife handles everything from managing the family finances to the children's education, not to mention housework. Husbands give their salaries to their wives who manage their expenses and give the husband spending money. Husbands rarely interfere with their wives' management.

Wives also take the lead in children's education. For example, she may send her children to a swimming or piano class. Regarding family travel, the destination is almost always decided by the wife. Furthermore, a new house will, in general, be selected by the wife. From the location of the house to room layout and interior decorating, the wife's taste is reflected. Thus, the positions of men and women are completely reversed at home.

In the western world, the idea of sharing jobs according to gender is not as common. The mainstream idea is to share everything, including jobs and housework, between men and women. Western attitudes tend to support couples being together as much as possible and take this as the fundament basis for happiness. So, western couples go out together for dining, movies and parties.

On the other hand, Japanese women, who look as though they are being oppressed, feel happier than men in Japan and the divorce rate is comparatively low compared to rates in western countries. Japan's job share society between men and women seems to hint that western-style equality is not the only basis for women's happiness.

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