Japan has the world’s third-largest economy but ranks 114th out of 144 countries regarding gender inequality and is in the lowest position among G7 nations.

An online search for the Japanese word Kaji (housework) returns images of which 78% comprise women. Though more than half of Japanese households comprise dual-income families, housework is unevenly shared: wife 90% to the husband’s 10% (source: JOY).

To date, corporations and the national government have implemented various measures; however, they have proved ineffective as the stereotype “housework is women’s work” remains deeply rooted.

Though P&G, which sells JOY dishwashing liquid in Japan, is a foreign-owned brand, it decided to tackle the issue to show commitment to the Japanese market.

P&G promote women’s empowerment in all countries where it operates. In Japan, sharing of housework has not made any gains, and the company saw improving the situation as an opportunity to differentiate itself from competitors.

We persuaded Aflo, one of Japan’s largest image providers, to prepare 58 photos of couples having fun doing housework. These were made available free of charge for use on social media and in advertising.

We created a video entitled “Things Shared by Two People.” It contrasted images of a couple sharing past moments of fun against the current reality of the wife performing household chores alone, urging a change in awareness about sharing housework.

The campaign opened on November 22 (Good couples day), a day that garners the most interest related to couples in the year. Through our video and still picture initiatives, we made it easy for the media to find material related to “good couples.”

Furthermore, “JOY Shared Housework Marriage Notifications,” wherein couples vowed to share household chores, were distributed free of charge. It was also possible to submit these notifications to government offices nationwide.