This study examines how household income inequality in Japan is impacted by changes in a couple's income and employment status after economic crises. Our analysis yields three findings. First, during the recession, incomes stagnated for households in the middle- and high-income brackets. Conversely, many low-income households saw incomes increase. Second, we show that when the husband's income declines, the added worker effect is observed. This effect was larger in households whose income was originally low. Third, by calculating the Gini coefficient, we show the wife's labor income reduced household income inequality, in particular for several years following the 2008 recession.