COVID-19 is transforming how families and societies respond to this public health crisis. This global public health issue has both short and long term ramifications for how people work, go to school, care for families, and communicate. This paper provides a portrait of the changes and effects brought upon by the pandemic and government appeals for “self-restraint” (as opposed to lockdown policies in other countries). In addition, the experiences of Japanese families from the perspective of university students, looking at several aspects such as work, schooling, and relationships. The observations suggest that there are notable impacts upon the Japanese family brought upon by new living arrangements. These include increased interactions and opportunities for more frequent communication between family members. On the other hand, significant issues including financial insecurity caused by reduced or stagnant incomes, tensions between family members due to work-at-home lifestyles, exacerbate existing problems faced by Japanese families. The stress from new living arrangements in small dwellings may have further intensified gender inequality in the division of housework and carework, and become a catalyst for greater strain in relationships. This paper provides an assessment of the current changes experienced by Japanese families based on news reports and statistical data, as well as perceptions of the pandemic from Japanese university students.
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