A survey released by public broadcaster Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK) in December found 26 percent of female workers reported employment problems including layoffs since April, compared with 19 percent of men.

“The coronavirus has highlighted Japan’s gender gap,” added Yayo Okano, a professor of feminism at Doshisha University in Kyoto.

In a separate NHK poll, 28 percent of women reported spending more time on housework during the pandemic, compared with 19 percent of men, with at-home supervision of children, after schools closed, falling mostly to mothers.