The survey of husbands and wives under the age of 60 indicates the percentage of wives reporting their husbands help is greater than the percentage of husbands who say they lend a hand, Yomiuri Shimbun reports.

The paper found 47 percent of the husbands admitted doing some housework while 49 percent of wives said their husbands perform domestic chores.

The biggest gap was seen among married couples in their 20s.

In that group, only 33 percent of the men said they helped around the house while 64 percent of the wives said they did.

The tendency was reversed among husbands and wives above 60 with the number of husbands reporting they did some housework greater than the figures supplied by their wives.

The survey was conducted in mid-November.