Some child care facilities in Japan replacing Father's Day, Mother's Day with 'family day'
This shift seems to be driven by the diversification of family structures, including the rise in single-parent households.
"I was really happy that they were considerate of each family's situation," and, "Since we don't have a dad, it was appreciated," are some of the posts from single parents on social media expressing gratitude for the switch to family day.
Asahi Hoikuen day care center in Ube, Yamaguchi Prefecture, transitioned to family day three years ago. Previously, for Mother's Day in May and for Father's Day in June, children would handcraft items such as keychains and magnets with portraits of their parents and present them as gifts. Now, these activities are combined and held in late May, between Mother's Day and Father's Day.
The switch was prompted by the need to revise events and activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The day care center explained, "We have both single-mother and single-father households. We considered the recent diversification of family situations. The children create gifts not only for their parents but also for their grandparents, relatives, and even mom's friends, whoever is important to them."
10% of households with kids are single-parent families
According to a survey by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the number of single-parent households increased from 947,000 in 1993 to 1,399,000 in 2003, a 1.5-fold rise. Since then, the number has stabilized between 1.3 million and 1.4 million, with 1,344,000 single-parent households in 2021. About 10% of child-rearing households are single-parent families.
Poppins Nursery School, a nationwide day care chain, also has multiple facilities that have adopted family day. In late May or June, these centers organize activities such as making gifts for loved ones and displaying family photos.
Meanwhile, some child care facilities continue to observe Father's Day and Mother's Day. On social media, single parents have shared diverse opinions, such as "For Father's Day, my child drew a portrait of me (mother) and made a letter for me," and, "(Though I am a single parent,) I would prefer they stick to the traditional format without catering to minority family types."
There are varied perspectives, and responses from day care centers and kindergartens seem to differ accordingly.
Some commercial facilities and libraries that traditionally displayed children's drawings of their parents on Mother's Day and Father's Day are now moving toward displaying "family pictures" collectively.
For example, the Omori-Minami Library in Tokyo's Ota Ward has integrated these displays for Mothers' Day and Father's Day into a "family portrait exhibition" starting in 2023. They showcase family drawings created by visiting children from May to June.
A library representative said, "The change reflects the fact that there are now many different types of families."
(Japanese original by Shuji Ozaki, Digital News Group)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yomiuri Shimbun
6 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Accidents at Fireworks Displays: Don't Leave Safety Management to On-Site Workers
Accidents involving fireworks, which light up the night sky, have been occurring one after another and are a reminder that even these spectacular displays can be dangerous. Organizers and fireworks operators must take every possible measure to ensure safety. On Aug. 4, a fire broke out on two launch barges floating on the ocean during a fireworks display in Yokohama. The fireworks to be launched exploded one after another, causing five workers on the barges to jump into the water. In Awaji, Hyogo Prefecture, on Aug. 3, a large firework exploded inside its launch tube. Fragments from the tube scattered, and it could have triggered other fireworks to explode. No spectators were injured in either incident, but the accidents caused the events to be canceled. It is necessary to quickly investigate the causes of these accidents and take measures to prevent such incidents from reoccurring. Fireworks displays that had been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic have resumed in various locations. Following the resumption, there were 50 fireworks accidents last year and 62 the year before. The most common type of accident at fireworks displays is fire burning undergrowth and other plants. At a fireworks display held in Itabashi Ward, Tokyo, two years ago, sparks from 'shikake hanabi' fireworks that were fixed to a structure spread to the undergrowth along a riverbank, burning an area of about 2,000 square meters. Fireworks companies are often commissioned by organizers, such as local governments, to put on a display. Due to the pandemic, there was a hiatus in the holding of such events, and it seems that some of the technical and safety management know-how was not passed on. In recent years, there has been a trend toward elaborate but risky performances, such as launching large fireworks in rapid succession over a short period of time. Organizers are urged to strengthen their safety measures through such steps as not relying solely on contractors and instead confirming on-site safety equipment and fire prevention measures. On-site safety management is not only an issue for fireworks displays. On Aug. 2, four workers carrying out sewer pipe inspections in Gyoda, Saitama Prefecture, fell into a manhole and died. The four may have inhaled hydrogen sulfide, but they reportedly were not wearing safety harnesses to prevent falls or masks to prevent oxygen depletion. This indicates that basic work procedures were not followed. Police are investigating whether there were any safety management issues at the company, which was contracted by the city to conduct the inspections. The Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry has urged local governments nationwide to ensure that contractors strictly adhere to safety measures during sewer pipe inspections. Local governments should also share information on safety measures and work together to establish such measures. Work sites are facing severe labor shortages. With the retirement of experienced veteran workers, training younger workers has become a challenge. It is important to thoroughly investigate whether these factors have contributed to the occurrence of accidents. (From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Aug. 11, 2025)
Asahi Shimbun
4 days ago
- Asahi Shimbun
Resonating sound chambers built on Kii rice terrace
"Onkai," a cluster of resonating concrete chambers by German sound sculptor Lukas Kuhne, sits on a former rice terrace in Totsukawamura village, Nara Prefecture. (Toshiyuki Hayashi) TOTSUKAWAMURA, Nara Prefecture—This sounds unusual: 10 cylindrical chambers have been built on a former rice terrace in the depths of the Kii Peninsula. Arranged in a circle, the interconnected concrete tubes are a sound sculpture that found a home in the Taketo community of Totsukawamura village after a long search. The work is named "Onkai," the Japanese expression for a musical scale. 'Our community has been enlivened by hosting 'Onkai,'' said community leader Takuo Tamaki. 'We are going to do what we can to get the monument to be experienced by as many people as possible.' "Onkai" is the work of German sound sculptor Lukas Kuhne. Its cylinders are of different diameters and heights. The smallest is larger than the size of a public phone booth. The largest is a soaring 5.4 meters high. This makes them resonate at different frequencies. Wind blowing past the entrance causes the chamber to hum. But added to that are the resonances of other sounds--the whisper of trees, the patter of rain and the chirping of birds--all of which are heard differently by a person listening inside. Kuhne is a serial sound artist. He has built works in Estonia, Finland and Iceland. His Japan project got rolling after he spoke to Japanese enthusiasts at an arts festival overseas. The person who put him in touch with a prospective host community was Shin Nakagawa, a professor of ethnomusicology at Osaka Metropolitan University. Nakagawa knows Totsukawamura well. He has researched the village's Bon festival dance for the past 45 years. Kuhne asked to be put in touch, whereupon Nakagawa identified a community within the village that might be suitable. The project appeared to get a green light when local leaders wrote a letter of agreement. But it ran into opposition from some residents and from environmental activists from outside the community. They were concerned about the impacts of both building a concrete structure near a renowned scenic spot and having streams of visitors coming to see it. 'Not in my backyard' was their answer. But three years later, a solution was found. Takuo Tamaki, the leader of the tiny Taketo neighborhood, saw an opportunity for his neighbors. 'I thought that hosting the artwork might bring visitors to our declining community,' he said. Taketo is home to only 12 households with 18 residents in total. Tamaki said their average age is over 70. In 2020, the next hurdle was passed: the purchase of the land from a private owner with donations made to an association based in Taketo. Then it suffered another setback when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Construction finally began in 2024 and was completed within the year. It involved collaboration between a local construction company and a crew of 10 engineers from an Estonian company that specializes in concrete architecture. The Estonian company picked up a large part of the 20 million yen ($135,000) cost of construction, including the costs for materials and transportation. What do visitors think? Mizuki Endo, a curator of contemporary art who has been involved in Kuhne's project from the start, said "Onkai" can be interpreted in many ways. 'It can be taken as architecture, sculpture, musical instrument or public art,' he said. '(It is) something you cannot categorize in one way or another, and opposition to it, in a sense, was understandable.' Nakagawa said the future of "Onkai" will depend on how it is used and received. He thinks it is valuable for three reasons: the engineering perspective of architectural technique; its esthetic value based on its appearance; and its social value in terms of generating a positive impact on locals and their neighborhood. 'Right now, its social value is zero,' he said. 'But it will go up if it is used as a venue for gatherings and events so that people can interact with each other.' The inauguration in June involved several events, including local drummers, ancient traditional dance, professional dancers and sound artists. And that was what Tamaki hoped for. 'This is the first time for us to see a crowd as large as this in the past 40 to 50 years,' he said.
The Diplomat
5 days ago
- The Diplomat
Self-Help Groups Are Transforming Women's Lives in India
For decades, men ruled the farms in Bihar. Now, it's women who are reshaping the agricultural economy. Young women who are part of one of Heifer International's Self-Help Groups support and learn from each other. Gunja Das and a younger assistant whom she is training to become a Community Agricultural Veterinary Entrepreneur. Gunja Das leaves her home on her scooter to travel to farms around the local area. Gunja Das, her husband and two children sit outside their home in the Muzaffarpur district of Bihar, India. Gunja Das stands behind the counter of her pharmacy, serving customers medicines for their farm animals. One of Heifer International's Self-Help Groups created to improve the literacy and basic mathematics of disadvantaged women in Bihar, India. 'I was always just my husband's wife. My father's daughter. The mother of my son.' Gunja Das cleared her throat. The air is thick and filled with dust in Muzaffarpur, a district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is one of India's most disadvantaged states, where 80 percent of the population work in farming and agriculture. 'I was a traditional housewife here, and I never left my home,' continued Das as her young children listened intently through a crack in her front door. 'My dream was to be able to send those two to a good middle school, where they could learn English.' Recent financial constraints, worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, made her dream difficult to imagine. At the same time, extreme heat and unpredictable monsoon seasons were becoming more prevalent year on year, endangering Muzaffarpur's agricultural economy and the fragile livelihoods of millions of India's most vulnerable people. But Gunja Das received a lifeline. In 2022, she was invited to join a 'Self-Help Group' for women in her community. She recalled not knowing what it was and was wary of the invitation. Her husband, she said, was the one to encourage her to leave the home and attend the meeting. The Self-Help Group she was invited to was one of several hundred small, women-only community groups that have been created in Muzaffarpur by Heifer International, a non-profit organization working on the ground in Bihar to support the livelihoods of over 70,000 rural families. Heifer International had selected a local NGO partner called Pragati Gramin Vikas Samiti to help organize the Self-Help Groups. The aim was to identify specific problems facing rural women in agriculture and provide them with the support to overcome them. In Muzaffarpur, there was a shortage of qualified veterinary and animal workers, vital to protecting key value chains in the agrarian economy. Heifer International offered to train women to become Community Agricultural Veterinary Entrepreneurs, CAVEs for short. 'It was an exciting process to be a part of, but it had significant challenges,' said Randhir Kumar, a senior project manager at Heifer International in Bihar. 'Many women felt it would be too much responsibility for them, especially without the support of their husbands.' Other women were forbidden from attending further meetings by their husbands But for Gunja Das, the first meeting was 'life-changing.' She was selected to attend a seven-day residential training course led by veterinary professionals shortly after. While fearful and anxious about leaving her home and family for the first time in 11 years, she described how much she began to enjoy the 'intensive training in farmstock vaccinations, diagnosis, deworming, and animal care.' The gender divide in Bihar is stark. While 80 percent of the population work in agriculture, only 13 percent of landowners are women. The oppressive caste system has been part of Bihar's social fabric for centuries. For women belonging to the low Dalit caste like Gunja Das, there are societal barriers to education, medical care, and even basic employment. Modernization is needed to support the state's agricultural economy. Sonmani Choudhary, program director at Heifer International, explained that she thinks 'smallholder women should be the backbone of rural transformation in Bihar.' Centuries of extreme inequality within the state's agrarian economy have left a painful legacy that runs deeply through the roots of Bihar. Feudal governing since medieval times allowed the ruling nobility called Zamindars, to control vast swathes of land in Bihar. Wealthy high-caste landlords effectively owned the workers from the lower rungs of the caste system. Corruption combined with the deeply entrenched caste discrimination continued through the 20th century, with violent land disputes reaching fever pitch in the 1990s. Today, landless farming families belonging to a lower caste and often earning no more than enough to feed themselves have little option but to continue to live off the land they do not own. Pradeep Priyadarshi is the secretary of Pragati Gramin Vikas Samiti. He has advocated for land reform and gender equality for decades in Bihar. He explained: 'Before the Heifer project, nobody in the community knew Gunja Das' name. Few would even speak with her. Now 4,000 people here know who she is!' After several weeks of training provided by Heifer International, Gunja Das began treating animals in need of vaccination in her first week. 'I was travelling on a scooter, which Heifer organized across Muzaffarpur to treat animals. It made me nervous, but my confidence grew and grew,' she said. Last year, Gunja Das treated over 18,000 farm animals – from water buffaloes to lambs – across Bihar. Her work is so in-demand that she recently traveled to Jharkhand and Delhi to conduct workshops for animal care in both states. To date, Heifer International has trained more than 1,300 CAVEs like Gunja across India, Nepal, Cambodia, and Bangladesh. Opening the front door to her home, Gunja's young children and husband joined her on her porch. 'Now, they call me Gunja's husband,' her husband said, with a broad smile. 'Being able to send my children to a good middle school is still one of my proudest achievements,' said Gunja Das, holding her husband's hand, before adding: 'And training other local young women, some not so much older than my daughter, to become veterinary entrepreneurs like me, is one of the most humbling experiences of my life.'
