With little help from dads, Japan's working moms shoulder big tasks at home

In fact, men in Japan do fewer hours of household chores and childcare than in any of the world's wealthiest nations

The paperwork never ends for Yoshiko Nishimasa.

There are the meticulous logs she must fill out every day, not to mention the pages of work she carefully checks and approves with a personalized stamp. She even keeps daily records of conversations, activities and meals.

But none of this bookkeeping is for her job as a marketing professional. It’s all for her children’s preschool — before she can even head to the office.

Like so many working mothers in Japan, Ms Nishimasa, 38, is swamped by onerous, bureaucratic tasks that have nothing to do with her profession but constrain her participation in the workforce