The Ikumen Project, a government campaign launched last year to encourage Japanese men to take a more active role in parenting, is gathering momentum. Seminars aimed at men on how to develop parenting skills are now being held across the country and father figures who take time out of their work to spend time with their kids are currently being applauded in the media.
Though Japanese men traditionally take responsibility for providing financially for the family they bear little of the burden of childrearing, however with more women now in work, it makes sense to rethink these traditional gender roles. The iku in ikumen stands for ikuji, meaning "child rearing," so an ikumen is a guy who actively participates in the lives of his children.