Time-geographic comparative analysis on the coordination of household activities in Japan and China

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This study focuses to the characteristics of human activities in Chinese cities compared with Japanese cities based on a time-geographic approach. We constructed a database of human activities derived from the previous surveys carried out in the selected cities both of China and of Japan. These include the activity data acquired by the surveys in three Japanese cities ; Shimosuwa, Nissin and Kawagoe since 1988 and the surveys in three Chinese cities ; Dalian, Tianjin and Shenzhen since 1995. Activity diaries method was employed in each surveys. Besides, we engaged in an interview survey in several Chinese cities in 2000-2001. The interviewees includes the administrators of day nurseries, the elderies in the nursing homes, and a migrant housekeeper.The analysis of data base reveals the resemblance between married men and women in all aspects of daily activities in China. Commuting distance and working hours of married women are quite similar to of men. Chinese married women appears to have wider job opportunities than of Japanese.High working rate in full-time jobs of Chinese married women is maintained by well-prepared child care services as well as affordable housemaid services. The interview survey suggests some social backgrounds enabling these services ;1)a tradition that local governments and firms in China as well as the national government have regarded women's full-time working as important,2)flexible attitudes of original families towards child care,3)an abundant supply of relatively cheap female labor suitable for housemaid services due to a huge economic disparity between industrialized cities and firming villages.