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Home Life in Japan

It is common in Japan for three generations to live under the same roof. This is becoming less common today, but still exists, certainly in the countryside.

Husbands in Japan give their salaries to their wives. They are returned a sum of money as pocket money, otherwise how to use the rest is the wife's decision. The finances of a family are the responsibility of the women who handle most of the household expenses. There are exceptions in instances when something of value, like a car, is being bought. This is changing with more women going to work.

Japanese fathers in contemporary urban households spend so much time at work, and the company demands on them are so great. It means that they often really have very little time or energy to spend with their children. The responsibility for raising children, overseeing the education fall onto the mothers. Mothers play an enormous role in the lives of their children and the bond is very strong. Babysitters are rarely used and mothers often sleep with their babies. A mother will also spend hours with children doing school work. Few Japanese men help with housework. There is more pressure today for this to change.

Most families in Japan today are nuclear families, such as those in the United States. That is to say that a married couple lives together with their children, perhaps with one grandparent. But for the most part, the Japanese family today looks much like the American family.