Ikumen, los recientes discursos sobre la paternidad activa en Japón

This article discusses the phenomenon of the ikumen – fathers who participate actively in childrearing – in contemporary Japan. Considering the discursive, economic and demographic contexts in which it appeared and focusing the attention on men, the paper debates the hegemonic gender role models, the changes in the way young generations play them and how media represents them. In this way, it is intended to make visible the social pressures put on Japanese men that are or want to be fathers and who aim to be more than providers in their children’s lives.