Reiko Sato refused to warn her parents she was leaving for the United States.

She saved money teaching Japanese to American businessmen. A month before leaving Japan she finally told her parents where she was headed.

"Most Japanese families won't allow their daughters to leave," says Sato, a linguistics graduate student at the University of Arizona. "I just didn't tell mine."

Nobuko Taguchi, also a linguistics graduate student, worked as a secretary in Japan before coming to the UA.

"I think careers for women are still very conservative in Japan," Taguchi says. "I hated that. That's why I quit and came here."

Both women plan to return to Japan after completing their studies at the UA.

Despite their rebellion, neither Taguchi nor Sato view gender roles in Japan as wholly stifling. Comparing the lives of women in Japan and the United States, these international students see both advantages and drawbacks.

Fumkimo Halloran, a Japanese-American scholar, claims Japanese women have both legal and social advantages over their American counterparts.

Halloran says Japanese women share entitlements and domestic autonomy American women lack. She cites a constitutional right to equality and also notes Japan's comprehensive family law which requires employers to provide child-care leave.

Taguchi and Sato both have doubts about women's security in America.

"I would be scared to work for an American firm," Taguchi says. "You never know when the company will fire its workers. Japanese companies are loyal."

Sato also says Japanese women have fewer constraints at home than American women. She says women in Japan make decisions about family purchases, the children's education, even housing without their husbands' input.

"The husband hands his paycheck over to his wife," Sato says."In Japan, the wife gives her husband an allowance."

Kim Jones, assistant professor of East Asian studies, offers an alternative take.

"Japanese women feel that on the surface they're not powerful, and yet they have all this hidden power, " Jones says. "I think they're right in the domestic sphere. But politically and economically women do not have an equal position in Japan."

Despite equal opportunity laws, Taguchi experienced discrimination at work.

"At my job in Japan, only women had to wear a uniform. Women had to come to work an hour early just to clean up," she says.

"Men could do anything, but women could only do paperwork or make coffee. Even if the woman had advanced degrees... Things are getting better. But it's still very conservative."

Elizabeth Harrison, assistant professor of East Asian studies, lived in Japan for 11 years and studies gender and society. Harrison describes two theories of the historical progression of women's roles in Japan.

"One theory argues conditions have become more oppressive," Harrison says. "The other thinks conditions have improved. Personally, I believe in a mixed view."

Harrison claims modern Japanese women have more choices, but that they also bear more burdens.

"Women in Japan today know about all kinds of choices they can make about their lives," Harrison says. "On the other hand, even women who choose careers must still provide for and educate their children. Traditionally, the father or an extended family has assumed this responsibility."

Sato feels many Americans remain ignorant of changes in Japanese society and have distorted pictures of Japanese women. She says cultural differences create misleading impressions.

"If I was working for an American company, I'd be afraid people would think I was weak because I don't voice my opinion," Sato says. "I have ideas. I just don't feel it's always polite to express them."

"American women seem so bold," Taguchi says. "Too open. Very emotional. They smile all the time and cry. I try to hide my emotions."

Halloran offers another thought.

"My perspective is that, regardless of nationality, women all over the world have less power, less money, less education and fewer options in life... Debating to prove who is advanced and who is not is beside the point."