TOKYO >> More and more these days, gender-neutral play is being encouraged, with commonplace signs that read “For boys” or “For girls” disappearing from Japan’s toy stores. Shelves are being stocked with new products suitable for both boys and girls. And there is encouragement for caregivers to create an environment where children no longer have to give up the play activities they like because of their gender.

In February, 18 toys, including a doll, dollhouse and shogi (Japanese chess) set, were delivered to a class of 4-year-olds at a child care facility in Tochigi city, to observe the differences in how boys and girls play.

“That’s for girls,” a boy said while looking at the doll and dollhouse. The boys initially perused the toys from a distance.

But by two weeks later there had been a major shift. Boys played the role of doctor, with the doll as their patient, and crafted a house for the doll with cardboard. There was no distinction between the boys and girls in choosing toys and playing with them.

“When there is an environment where they can play freely and safely, boys and girls play in a similar way,” said Masahiro Hori, the preschool director.

The project was conducted for 11 weeks by Kokoruku, an organization that promotes ideas from the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, and People Co., a toy manufacturer. Among the 17 goals is gender equality.

The toys were presented to the children without packaging, since Japan’s toy industry conventionally categorizes products based on target users’ gender.

But the industry has started to reassess the practice. Toys R Us-­Japan Ltd., for instance, which has about 160 stores across Japan, has stopped posting signs that indicate whether a toy is intended for a boy or girl.

The move is being driven by criticism that gender-based categorizations are at odds with contemporary thinking and that they narrow consumer options.

TO LEARN about consumers’ experience with gender distinctions, a joint survey was conducted this year by Kodomo Living, publisher of a child care magazine, and the Dentsu Diversity Lab. It included 681 parents with children ranging from under a year old to sixth graders.

About a quarter of respondents said they had not purchased a product because they viewed it as unsuitable for their child’s gender, even though their child wanted it. Toys accounted for the largest percentage of those products, at 53.3%.

“When there are gender category signs in stores, people tend to select products under the influence of those signs,” said a Dentsu Diversity Lab spokesperson.

Some toy manufacturers have already made changes.

In 2019, Bandai Co. released Horen, a boy baby doll. The company uses boys in the product’s advertisements to stress that playing with dolls can be fun for both boys and girls.

Pilot Corp. has added a boy doll to its Mel-chan doll series, and to address boys who avoid dolls because of traditional pink packaging, the company has used light blue since 2016.

Daisuke Fujii, editor in chief of Toy Journal, expressed his hopes for gender-neutral toys. “If toys become gender neutral, it will contribute to an expanding market, and children will be able to learn about gender equality through toys.”

For children to be able to play freely with their favorite toys, it is vital that people around them are understanding.

A survey of parents and children in 2021 by the Danish toy manufacturer Lego Group illustrates that point. The survey included 6,844 respondents in seven countries, including Japan and the United States.

The survey revealed that roughly 70% of boys were worried that they would be teased by others if they played with toys traditionally associated with girls. The percentage for a similar question posed to girls was 40%.

“Adults should be attentive to the interests and concerns of each child, rather than acting based on a stereotype,” said Hirotomo Omameuda, a professor at Tamagawa University.