Who Does Housework Anymore? (2025 - 2025)

Shiho (Tabe Mikako) comforts Reiko (Eguchi Noriko) , who is overwhelmed by the struggle to balance housework and work, and the two moms become friends who can talk about their worries, despite being in different positions. Just then, Shiho meets Nakatani (Dean Fujioka) , a bureaucrat at the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare who is on parental leave for two years, at the park . Shiho is happy for a moment to have made her first dad friend, who is close to the age of her daughter Ichigo (Nagai Kana) . However, he is so confident in his child-rearing plan that he repeatedly makes condescending remarks to Shiho, saying, "Being a full-time housewife is a luxury," and "I feel sorry for your husband."

When Reiko's (Eguchi Noriko) daughter, Hoshina (Yoshitama Hohka) , catches the mumps, Shiho (Tabe Mikako) takes care of Hoshina at her request, as she cannot take time off work. Shiho spends a day feeling happy watching Ichigo (Nagai Kana) and Hoshina playing together. However, when Nakatani (Fujioka Dean) hears this , he warns Shiho, "If you're going to take care of someone else's daughter, you should be properly compensated," and Shiho is surprised by his unexpected words.

When Ichigo (Nagai Kana) falls ill, Shiho (Tabe Mikako) visits her doctor, Tsutamura Clinic. Dr. Waka's wife Akiko (Tanabe Momoko) , who greets her at the reception desk, is a former nursery school teacher who quit her job when she got married. She is always smiling and attentive, and is loved by Ichigo, Shiho, and many other patients. With O-sensei hospitalized, Dr. Waka (Daichi Asai) manages the pediatrics and internal medicine departments at Tsutamura Clinic, where the longtime regular patients are concerned about who will take over the clinic. On this day, Akiko is secretly troubled by the well-meaning pressure to have children from her patients, who say, "If I have a grandchild, O-sensei will be better." Meanwhile, Shiho bumps into Akiko at a nearby women's clinic and decides to listen to her painful thoughts.

Nakatani (Dean Fujioka), who is eager to get Karen (Igarashi Mio) to take up extracurricular activities, invites Shiho (Tabe) and Ichigo (Nagai Kana) to a trial English class. Although Shiho is reluctant, saying "It's too early, he can't even speak Japanese yet," Nakatani explains that "experience is a weapon that parents pass on to their children," and explains why children should try as many things as possible from an early age. One day, Reiko ( Noriko Eguchi) invites the Nagano and Murakami families to go glamping. Nakatani and Karen, who are in Japan with their wife Juri (Shimabukuro Hiroko), also join, and the three families all get together!

Shiho (Tabe) receives a letter saying, "A full-time housewife like you is a burden." Reiko (Noriko Eguchi) accidentally opens the letter, but for Shiho's sake, she decides to keep the matter to herself. Shiho is taken by Nakatani (Dean Fujioka) to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare for a hearing on the "Work Comeback Project," which supports women in balancing work with marriage, childbirth, and caregiving, and returning to work. When an employee who promotes dual-income households tells Shiho, "It's a waste not to return to work when you have a skill," she begins to wonder if she should return to work in order to contribute to society.

Shiho (Tabe), who visited Sakagami (Tanaka Misako)'s house as usual, was surprised to see many bottles of soy sauce lined up on the seasoning shelf. Shiho felt something was off when Sakagami said he accidentally bought it on sale. One day, Shiho and Nakatani (Dean Fujioka) stop by a supermarket and come across Sakagami being accused of shoplifting. Worried about Sakagami, who denies it loudly, Shiho and the others take him home. Shiho and the others are confused by Sakagami's intense emotional ups and downs, who keeps repeating the same story. Just then, Sakagami's only daughter, Satomi (Mimura Rie), comes to visit. Nakatani suspects dementia based on Sakagami's symptoms and suggests that they should take her to the hospital.

Shiho (Tabe Mikako) feels that she and Torarou (Ichinose Wataru) are not just a couple, but have become a family. Nakatani (Dean Fujioka) also has mixed feelings about Juri (Shimabukuro Hiroko) who is intimate with his male boss.

When Torarou (Wataru Ichinose) suspects her relationship with Nakatani (Dean Fujioka), Shiho (Mikako Tabe) declares that she will take "paid leave as a housewife"! Meanwhile, Nakatani runs into the woman who sent her the threatening letter...

Shiho (Mikako Tabe) decides to go and see her father, Junya (Naoto Ogata), who she believes is also trapped in the times. Housework brings the family together... I chose this path in life, crying and laughing!