One of the things that makes Japan feel like it's stuck in the 1950s is the very distinct roles for men and women. An example of which is this campaign by Electrolux...

I guess they are interesting looking vacuum cleaners.

Light and small is not bad.

Does that kind of campaign even work in Japan? "Hey, look at me, I'm a fashionable young woman and I can vacuum your house!" Acutally, I'm sure that most Japanese men totally love that image. In Japan a typical marriage proposal from a man to a woman is "Will you please make my dinner for the rest of my life" and where a woman who wants to show how serious she is will come over and clean her boyfriend's apartment.