Paper
After-School Care for School-Aged Children in Japan during the Second World War: Focusing on the Relations with the Labor Mobilization of Married Women
2020 Volume 87 Issue 1 Pages 1-12
Details
2020 Volume 87 Issue 1 Pages 1-12
The purpose of this paper is to examine the historical significance of after-school care for school-aged children of working parents, especially mothers, from the perspective of labor policy for women. The paper focuses on relations with the labor mobilization targeting married women in Japan during the Second World War.
Several studies on social policies in Japan during the Second World War have referred to the social work with relation to after-school care for school-aged children, but the facts have hardly been clarified. Therefore, this paper elucidates the characteristics of after-school care in terms of balancing work and childcare, based on the labor mobilization targeting married women in this period.
First, the paper surveys the labor mobilization targeting women during the Second World War from the perspective of married womenʼs treatment. It is clear that social interest in the problem of balancing work and childcare increased as well because the government forced women into mobilization from 1943 on.
Second, the paper considers the arguments for the necessity of after-school care for school-aged children at the same time. The social workers engaged in military relief work and the policy of mobilizing women for production labor stressed the need for after-school care for school-aged children of working mothers. They were understanding of the support for work-family balance, especially for working womenʼs childcare.
Third, the paper considers the characteristics of the after-school care service for school-aged children starting around 1943: 1) It was aimed at all female industrial workers and their children; 2) Educational, industrial and regional sectors joined forces and worked as one sector; 3) It was a social work for the purpose of strengthening production capacity on the war footing.
In conclusion, it is clear that this service was characterized as a social work, integrated with schools, industry, and neighborhood associations for married women and their children. This relates to the situation of womenʼs labor in Japan during the Second World War, when social interest in the support for work-family balance increased rapidly to mobilize women to production capacity.
