Men Are More Effective Grocery Shoppers Than Women In Times During COVID-19, Japanese Official Says

• Osaka Mayor Ichiro Matsui told his citizens that men should start doing the grocery in the time of pandemic, as women often take their time when buying items.
• Matsui said by doing so, the country reduces the risk of increased coronavirus infection.
• His advice, however, received public backlash, criticizing him of knowing nothing about daily life.

Osaka Mayor Ichiro Matsui believe that men are more effective grocery shoppers than women because the latter take “a longer time” browsing through different products. Explaining his point further, Matsui said that men quickly grab what they are told to purchase that’s why it’s more effective to let them handle the grocery duties during the pandemic.

Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has partially lifted the state of emergency to only three cities namely Osaka, Kyoto, and Hyogo in western Japan, as the spread of the novel COVID-19 infections have gradually slowed down. The country imposed its strict emergency state measures on April 1 and after more than a month, they’re now slowly relaxing restrictions in cities where cases have been contained.

Prior to the relaxation of measures, however, Matsui of Osaka faced backlash from Japanese citizens after suggesting that men are more effective grocery shoppers than women.

“Women take a longer time grocery shopping because they browse through different products and weigh out which option is best,” Matsui said.

“Men quickly grab what they are told to buy so they won’t linger at the supermarket– that avoids close contact with others,” he added.

Matsui made the comment after he suggested to limit the number of people going to supermarkets or grocery stores, and recommended the public to only shop for “once every two to three days.”

Gender equality has always been a big issue in the country. According to the World Economic Forum, Japan is ranked 110th out of 149 countries when it comes to gender gap index.

So it’s no surprising that Matsui’s comment received different reactions from netizens on social media.

Japanese journalist Shoko Egawa slammed Matsui’s suggestion, saying “people who know nothing about daily life shouldn’t make comments”.

One netizen even pointed out that Matsui “managed to anger both men and women in the same sentence”.

Meanwhile, others agreed with his suggestion: