Abstract
We cannot ignore the effect of gender roles when discussing consumer behavior issues in Japan. Gender differences seem heavily involved in consumer problems. This study seeks to clarify and
analyze the issues of heavy personal debtors from a gender perspective. To this end, I observed gender differences of debtors, in term of loan purposes, causes of increased debts, psychological burden, and relations of the debts to the family members. These differences were found to be caused by the gender roles: men are breadwinners and women are house-keepers.
To resolve these issues, we suggest providing consumer education that incorporates the perspective of gender.
