ABSTRACT
“Onna no jidai’ or ‘the era of women’, is a catch phrase heard often these days in Japan. The implication is that, having attained a large measure of equality in a highly affluent society, Japanese women today are able to choose freely from a variety of options in their pursuit of an active and fulfilling life. At the same time, women are portrayed as being more vibrant, more independent, more in tune with new ideas and new values, and enjoying a happier, longer, more balanced lifestyle in comparison with their male counterparts, who are often portrayed as holding on to old-fashioned views on everything from marriage to the environment and tied to the dull, stultifying routine of the salaried white-color worker, or sarariman.
