Japan's prolonged recession is bringing about changes in people's way of life - particularly for men, who are having to adjust to new roles and change their behaviour.
Sachiko Ito, 44, from Tokyo, is glad her husband, Kazuya, lost his job last year. At first she did not like having him around the house all the time. Like many Japanese men of his generation, he expected his meals to be cooked for him and the washing and ironing done. 'Then, one day I told him he was no longer a shogun, but a member of the family who should share the work at home,' she said. Step by step, he learned to do the washing, make simple meals, walk the dog and do the shopping.
When he finally landed another job, he had evolved into a more acceptable husband.
Such is the case all over Japan, as more men are made redundant. Unemployment averaged 5.4 per cent for the last financial year, the highest since 1953, when Japan began compiling such statistics. More than 3.5 million people are out of work because of the vigorous corporate restructuring - many of them middle-aged males. Others have had to face salary cuts.
As a result, many are spending longer at home, and are attending to domestic chores. Some discover the joy of cooking. But the adjustment is proving difficult for many, who find it easier to identify with the traditional male role model.
A government poll last year revealed that 47 per cent of respondents - of which 51 per cent were male - still thought that the husband should work and the wife should stay at home to take care of the family.
