Among major industrialized countries, Japan is by far the country where fathers do not do much housework or childcare. To change the old mentality that housework and childcare should be done by wives and husbands should only work, the Japanese government has instituted a new paternity leave system. This new system obliges companies and other organizations to grant parental leave to men. In addition, men can now take childcare leave not once, but several times, allowing them to take childcare leave alternately with their wives. However, many fathers were troubled and perplexed because they had never taken care of a child before and had no role models around them. Asking their wives how to take care of their child would cause them stress.

We thought that Alexa, Amazon's smart speaker, could help fathers with their first childcare experience. We worked with local governments to hold roundtable discussions with fathers struggling to raise their children. We listened to their concerns and problems and lectured them on how to use Alexa to help them. We then held an experiment in which we asked the fathers to use Alexa for childcare, which enabled them to experience childcare in a fun and smart way. This result was announced in October before the launch of the governmental system, leading to a great public response.

We were able to make Alexa a must-have for fathers by presenting Alexa as their ally who are unable to talk to anyone about their childcare concerns. One of our goals was to raise awareness of Alexa and make it a must-have for fathers in Japan, where there is no maid culture or custom of commanding people, thus smart speakers have not been widely used.

Saga City, a municipality that promotes gender equality in housework and childcare, and Amazon have teamed up to conduct an experiment in which fathers use Alexa for childcare. First, they held a roundtable discussion with fathers in Saga City to identify their childcare concerns and gave them a lecture on how to use Alexa to solve their problems. After the discussion, Alexa was provided to 30 residents, and fathers tried out Alexa for two weeks.

In the experiment, they learned how to calm a child's crying at night, make a child want to brush his teeth, and make a child listen to them, etc. The results were astonishing. In a post-survey, more than 90% of fathers involved in this experiment said, Alexa helped their childcare and that they would want to continue to use it and introduce it to other fathers.

This project was truly a brand experience that captured the times and made a positive impression on many people. It was featured in various media and its PR impressions were worth more than＄1million. Alexa device sales increased by 150%（YoY).

Furthermore, inquiries from other municipalities and companies that have seen the project with Saga City have skyrocketed, and plans are underway to produce promotions for those municipalities and to introduce this project as a corporate welfare program.