An analysis of timeuse of dual income households living in central Tokyo and the suburbs

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K01222
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Geography
• Research Institution: Tokyo Metropolitan University
• Principal Investigator: Yabe Naoto 東京都立大学, 都市環境科学研究科, 准教授 (10534068)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 時間地理学 / 生活時間 / インターネット / 都心 / 郊外 / 東京

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We analyzed the difference in timeuse between central Tokyo and the suburbs, focusing on two types of households: households in which both spouses are full-time employees and households in which only the husband is a full-time employee. As a result, the commuting time for full-time employees was shorter in the city center than in the suburbs, and the work hours tended to be longer in the city center than in the suburbs, although the difference was not statistically significant. For husbands, the percentage of husbands who were responsible for picking up their children in the morning was higher in the city than in the suburbs, suggesting that part of the shorter commuting time may have been allocated to childcare-related responsibilities. On the other hand, wives tended to spend less time on housework in the city than in the suburbs. This may be due to the fact that the proportion of shopping trips by car is lower in the city center, and the time spent cooking for themselves is shorter.

Free Research Field

都市地理学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

東京都心部における人口増加は1990年代後半から続いているが，郊外と比べた都心における生活の実態は明らかではなかった。都心の方が郊外よりも通勤時間が短いことは容易に想像できるが，本研究はその短くなった通勤時間が何に使われているのかを，夫の育児の分担という一部の時間の使い方についてではあるものの明らかにすることができた。また，郊外と比べて都心では車を持つ人が少ないことが，買い物や自炊の時間と関連しているという，ライフスタイルの差異の一端も示すことができた。すなわち，夫婦における家事や育児の分担を考える際に，都心と郊外といった空間的な差異が重要であることを示した点に，本研究の意義があると考える。