My research is concerned with the ways in which ordinary women and men try to achieve a balance between their paid work and unpaid, domestic work. I will look at examples from two countries, namely Japan and the Netherlands. In particular, this study focuses on the changing social values, economic situations, legislative measures and individuals’ perceptions of work and care in order to explicate both the similarities and differences between these two societies and to explore the desirable social environment in which both men and women can pursue their own means of reconciling work and private lives. Through face-to-face interviews with individuals selected through a “snow-ball sampling” method, as well as the reading of relevant materials such as various statistics and scholarly works, I intend to examine the ways in which the cultural notions of “work”, “care” and “domesticity” have been intertwined with various other factors that are behind individuals’ choices.