Less young Japanese desire to build dual-income families: survey

A recent survey suggested the proportion of Japanese young people with an aspiration to establish dual-income households has dropped to approximately 30 per cent, local media reported on Thursday.

This marked a decrease of 11.3 percentage points from two years ago, the survey conducted by the Japan Research Institute (JRI) noted.

The survey attributed the shift to the surge in remote work due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as many young individuals, having observed their parents managing work responsibilities.

They perceived the challenge of balancing child-rearing with a job, reported Mainichi Shimbun.

Regarding their preferred working arrangements for child-rearing with a future partner, 48.2 per cent of respondents expressed uncertainty, followed by 32.8 per cent opting for dual income.

They preferred 9.7 per cent to work, and 9.3 per cent desiring to primarily engage in housework and childcare, the results showed.

The desire for a dual-income household has notably dwindled from the 44.1 per cent of respondents advocating for it in the 2020 survey.

Broken down by gender, the percentage of men and women favouring dual incomes has decreased by 6.6 points and 16 points, respectively.

The Cabinet Office’s White Paper on Gender Equality highlights the annual increase in dual-earner households with women aged 64 or younger.

In 2022, dual-income households amounted to 11.91 million, nearly three times the count of families with full-time housewives.

“More women may have felt that it’s difficult to balance their jobs and housework after witnessing their parents (work).

“ If men of working age actively participate in housework and childcare, it could change their children’s opinions,’’ Makiko Hashizume said.

Hashizume of the JRI, who led the survey, was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

The study involved 300 junior high school students, 300 senior high school students, and 400 college students, equally divided between genders, and covered topics like career aspirations and economic views.

Responses from all 1,000 participants were gathered between November and December 2022 and were published in August 2023.