The ideologies associated with fatherhood in Japan are changing rapidly in tandem with shifting beliefs about family relationships and work-life balance. While many Japanese fathers aspire to be strong presences in their children’s lives, these men often cannot locate in their own emotionally distant fathers any role models for paternal involvement. What does it mean to be a father in contemporary Japan? How does one learn more about child care, especially when the overwhelming amount of parenting information targets mothers? Can fathers find inspiration outside their families, such as by forming supportive relationships with other parents? This talk will explore how some Japanese fathers are pursuing answers to these questions. It draws upon more than two years of ethnographic fieldwork among parenting-focused groups in the Greater Tokyo Area, and considers what these answers might mean for families, the communities in which they live, and wider society. Details and registration here