Abstract
This paper examines the data obtained by our latest time use survey, which was conducted in Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, in 1995, and discusses the present state of social/cultural activities time in light of the structure of total time use considering gender differences.
Gender differences in paid work time, housework time, and total working time have been found to affect social/cultural activities time. The full-time employed wives have very many other factors of time use that affect their free time, and each of those factors is strong in the intensity of effect. The full-time employed wives and their husbands, on the other hand, show a new tendency to spend a high percentage of time on “activities with family members and related to the creation of family culture” including relaxing with family members. As to the question of choice between income and time, there are many, not only among the full-time employed wives households but also on the whole, who favor reducing work time even at the sacrifice of income rather than securing free time through the use of external housework and other services that are offered on a commercial basis.
