Abstract

This chapter examines the relationship between care and masculinity, based on the actual caregiving practices of male caregivers in Japan. As the country with the highest aging rate in the world, the number of male caregivers is on the rise. However, the quantitative increase in the number of male caregivers has not only had a positive impact on the quality of caregiving. This chapter focused on four specific difficulties faced by male caregivers in Japan: difficulties in managing housework, isolation from the community, difficulties in balancing work and caregiving, and even cases of abuse and murder by caregivers. Men’s involvement in care does not lead to an automatic deconstruction of masculinity. While care as a “job” rooted in traditional masculinity leads to improving the welfare system, it also makes it harder for male caregivers to raise SOS.