When I lived there over 16 years, a Japanese woman told me that they have it better than any women in the world. Hubby goes to work, they control the money and give him a monthly spending allowance of less than $300 (JPY 30,000) with which he is supposed to cover lunch and all his other expenses. Once the kids are off to school, she has the day to shop or take classes or do whatever she wants.
In exchange for all of that, all she has to do is run the household, show him a little appreciation and pretend like he is in charge, even though she really is. Why would they want to be "liberated" like American women?
Yes. People outside Japan don't seem to realize that "Mrs. Watanabe" (shorthand for the typical Japanese housewife) controls the household budget in Japan. The "Sarariman" (white collar worker husband) gets an allowance from her. As is often the case in Japanese culture, things are not what they at first seem. The wife may walk 2 paces behind the husband in public but she holds a helluva lot of power in private.