At an average 83 minutes per day, the amount of time married Japanese men with children under the age of six spent on housework and childcare activities in 2016 was shorter than in Europe and the United States. The Fourth Basic Plan for Gender Equality agreed by the Japanese Cabinet in December 2015 aimed to increase that average from 83 minutes to 2 hours and 30 minutes by 2020.

The 2017 priority policies for accelerating the promotion of active participation by women, decided by the Headquarters for Creating a Society in which All Women Shine on June 6, 2017, evolve around fueling nationwide momentum to change men’s awareness and way of living, and encourage men to look after the house and their kids more.

The Gender Equality Bureau ,Cabinet Office decided to launch the Get Dads Cooking campaign to encourage men to take the opportunity to learn to cook as part of their housework and childcare duties.