Are you an “Ikumen”?

Source: Paid Parental Leave vs. The World (Infographic), Feb 4, 2013, Huffington Post

What does the word “ikumen” mean?

The word “Iku-men” is a play on the Japanese word for child-rearing, “iku-ji”

Stay-at-home fathers in Japan.
(Iku-ji [child-rearing] + Men.)

It initially referred to a relatively new and minority group of prominent stay-home dads who put their career on hold to look after their children, but has now taken a broader meaning to include fathers who are actively engaged or involved in rearing their children.

“A recently coined term that refers to men who actively participate in raising their children, it is a play on words taken from ikuji, Japanese for “child-raising” and “men.” This is partly due to the growing attention given to fathers’ involvement in child-raising and housework while Japanese society has been coping with the trend toward fewer children and increasing dual-income households.” — Wishing to be Ikumen, Benesse

The ikumen parenting phenomenon is gathering momentum…with more and more fathers have been reported taking an active role in childcare. The numbers of fathers taking time off work to take care of their children, while on the increase, remain relatively minuscule, apparently due to the less enthusiastic and taciturn corporate chiefs but also due to the fact that the paternity leave benefit is less generous relative to other countries (see pie chart above) elsewhere given that 98 days’ leave with only 60% pay is allowed (you need more money not less when raising and feeding an extra mouth).

In 2010, the BBC reported that just one in a hundred Japanese fathers take paternity leave, despite laws that allow either parent to take up to one year off. However, a paper by Meisei University (Apr 2012) showed that 55.6 per cent, of male workers at workplaces that provided paternity leave and whose partners gave birth from 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008 took leave.

The NPO Ikumen Club, was formed in December 2006 with web resources featuring childcare symposiums and seminars, newsletters, forums, contests, events for fathers and children to participate together. The website also offers advice on parenting and focuses on getting men to simply read a story to their children …and features book resources and tips on storytelling. And since October 2011, “Ikumen of the Year” awards are given out annually for prominent celebrities and personalities who are actively involved in child-rearing. Comedian Ryo Tamura, was interviewed in Sankei News about his ikumen parenting of his two young sons.

To boost the plummeting birth rate, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare launched the “Ikumen Project” a campaign in June 2010 and revised the Childcare and Family-care Leave Law. Under the new revised law fathers are allowed to take paternity leave for the second child and incorporates a “dad and mum childcare leave plus system”. It also allows employees with children under three years old to work shorter hours. Sumitomo Corp and NTT Data Corp are at the forefront of companies that support the Ikumen Project, and that promote ikumen parenting among their male employees. The welfare ministry has even put up a website asking men to declare themselves as ikumen (www.ikumen-project.jp). Lectures are given by various cities on ikumen parenting. An Ikumen song has even been composed for the ikumen of Kariya city in Aichi prefecture.

Hironobu Narisawa (mayor of Tokyo’s Bunkyo Ward), Seiji Yanagida (mayor of Saku, Nagano Prefecture), Hidehiko Yuzaki (governor of Hiroshima) and Masato Yamada (deputy mayor of Yokohama) and other politicians have become role models in taking paternity leave after the birth of their children.

A large number of shows and documentaries feature Scandanavian, and particularly, Finnish ikumen lifestyles (see Finnish ‘ikumen’ dazzles Japan) of which the Japanese are terribly envious.

Activities at a recent event in Mie Prefecture, for example, aimed at men in their 20s-40s, featured balloon and beanbag play, as well as a workshop on how to make airplanes with paper and bamboo.

Businesses particularly restaurant businesses such as Papa Park!, are finding it worth their while to enhance their corporate image (the latter promotes the ikumen credentials of stars in its stable). Some product brands are practising niche marketing to ikumen fathers (see Ikumen marketing)

My husband has recently become head of his regional office, and tries to promote “ikumen” lifestyle by clocking off at 6 p.m. everyday, so that his staff can return home early, by his example, to spend time with their families (unfortunately, we aren’t able to benefit from his “ikumen parenting” because my husband is currently on a tanshin funin posting).

:::

Share this:

Leave a comment Cancel reply