Japanese Women Now

Domestic Violence

By IKEUCHI, Hiromi
Tokyo Kazoku Labo

The term "DV or domestic violence" began to be used by the media around 1998 in Japan. Until that time, domestic violence was hidden by the Japanese culture of shame, and people hardly talked about a husband's violence against his wife or violence within the family outside of the house. These problems were hidden as much as possible.

The Japanese translation of DV is "kateinai boryoku," but "kateinai boryoku" refers to the violence of children against their parents, a problem rarely seen in other countries. In this paper DV refers to violence between partners, meaning violence between close relationships such as wife and husband (ex-wife and ex-husband), and boyfriend and girlfriend (ex-boyfriend and ex-girlfriend).

According to the national survey conducted in February 2000 by the Prime Minister's Office, 4.6% of women, or 1 out of 20, are "subjected to life-threatening violence." The only recourse left for victimized women is to "run away" from their partner's violence.

Many victims are housewives

Not all assailants have problems with alcohol dependency, drug abuse, or poverty. Some incidents of DV are caused by the nature of Japan's highly stressful society. For example, many DV cases involve men considered to be the elite of a society that emphasizes academic careers or a competitive corporate environment, and who act as a tyrant at home. Some survey results reported that, by occupational group, doctors and self-employ workers, followed by public employees, are most prone to acts of domestic violence. These groups represent men with both knowledge and earning power. Many of the victims are housewives, who are generally controlled financially by their husbands, and often isolated from friends and family, and in many cases unable to seek assistance.

As a symbolic case, the Japanese Counsel (51 years old) in Vancouver, Canada, struck his wife and was arrested by local police in 1999. The public denounced him when quoted as saying, "Since olden times in Japan, it has not mattered if a husband hit his wife. This is a cultural difference." Although not all Japanese men think this way, it cannot be denied that some men hold the same beliefs and still misinterpret the idea that "wives should obey their husbands," an idea rooted in past patriarchal systems but no longer applicable in modern society.

Light penalties for DV cases

The awareness of the need to penalize violence is very low. For court judgements of DV cases in 2000 involving "seriously injured from long-term abuse," the average penalty was only 7 to 18 months imprisonment, or a fine of approximately 300,000 yen. These types of judicial precedents are often seen. In addition, for cases of injury resulting in death, in which a "husband kills his wife as a result of continuous hitting and kicking," the sentence handed down was 6 to 8 years imprisonment. When murder is combined with abandoning the body, many judicial precedents of 10 years imprisonment can be found. Every time I read of this type of judicial sentencing, I strongly feel the lack of understanding about the fear of continuous violence and the attitude that makes light of human life. In contrast, sentencing against wives who kill their husbands in response to repeated DV is often 3 to 4 years imprisonment with a suspended sentence, and court judgements refer to the fault of husbands who inflicted repeated acts of violence on their wives.

DV Prevention Law was enforced on October 2001

With regard to violence and stalking women, criminal law is applied to penalize criminal acts such as injury and violence, while an interim order under the civil protection law is used to ensure a victim's protection. However, these laws do not respond to all problems. Firstly, domestic violence between wife and husband is often difficult to be discovered, and secondly, due to the principle that the law does not generally intervene in household problems, it is difficult for third parties such as the police to mediate incidents of domestic violence.

To address areas not covered by conventional laws, the "Anti-Stalker Law" was enacted in November 2000, while the "DV Prevention Law (law on the prevention of violence from spouses and the protection of victims) introduced by a Diet member and approved after a five-day discussion was adopted in April 2001 (enforced in October 2001).

The "DV Prevention Law" is intended to assist not only wives and husbands, but also common law marriage partners and ex-wives and ex-husbands. This law obliges national and local governments to prevent DV and to protect victims. Prefectures will establish "spouse violence consultation assistance center" using women's consultation centers from fiscal 2002, and these centers will provide consultation and shelter for temporary protection.

Under the new law, victims facing serious danger can file a claim for protection at the district court, and the district court can issue a protection order (1) preventing the spouse from coming near the victim's residence or workplace for six months, or (2) removing the spouse from the victim's residence for two weeks. If the spouse violates the protection order, the new law demands a penalty of imprisonment of no more than one year, or a fine of no more than one million yen.

Beginning of efforts to protect human rights

The above legislation considers that "violence between husband and wife is a violation of human rights" and that the criminal penalties are a deterrent to DV. These points can be highly evaluated, but problems remain in the procedures and operation of this law, as victims have to file a claim to the district court. Also for example, the new law targets only physical violence as the DV, and measures taken to protect victims against mental abuse or financial threats are not included and remain as future issues.

In addition, there is only slightly more than 40 shelters nationwide functioning as temporary evacuation centers for victims of DV. These shelters face financial difficulties, but the new law makes provisions for economic assistance, and so some local governments have decided to establish shelters. From various perspectives, Japan has taken the first step forward to understand DV from the viewpoint of protecting human rights.

IKEUCHI, Hiromi:Born in Okayama City in 1961. After divorcing at the age of 32 with one daughter, Ikeuchi began writing (belongs to the Japan Pen Club) and has written many books, including Ristra rikon (Futabasha, 1996), Ristra kazoku (Shakaihihyosha, 1997) and Ikeuchi Hiromi no rikon sodanjo (Nihonjitsugyo-shuppansha, 1997). She appears as a regular commentator on the television programs "Super Morning" (TV Asahi) and "Let's" (NTV). Ikeuchi also appears other television and radio programs and lectures all over the country.

Tokyo Kazoku Labo: Established in 1997. Hiromi Ikeuchi offers divorce consultation. She established Tokyo Kazoku Labo with the cooperation of psychologists, counselors, lawyers, public notaries, and private detectives in order to investigate not only wives and husbands but also their family background. Including individual sessions, such as consultation on marital problems, psychotherapy, psychological counseling, and legal family consultation by lawyers, family problem seminars and workshops to establish human relationships are offered. A survey division (private detective function) is also operating.

Related Links
Tokyo Kazoku Labo (Tokyo Family Laboratory)
*Japanese text only

Resource
Law for the Prevention of Spousal Violence and the Protection of Victims
*PDF

WOM has been working on the initiative Japanese Women Now in order to provide information about contemporary legal/social environment surrounding Japanese women. It is our hope that information on this page help readers gain further understandings on gender issues in Japan.

Authors of articles contributed to this initiative are active and knowledgeable members of the respective fields of selected topics. The contents are based on the fact available as of late 2001, when these articles were written. The original Japanese articles are also available on our Japanese Home Page.

Topics selected in this initiative are: Domestic Violence, Compulsory Selection of a Family Name for a Married Couple, Elderly Care and Women, Women and Work, Sexual Harassment in Working Place, Sexual Harassment on Campus, Equal Employment Opportunity Law, Single Mothering, Child Abuse, Women and Medical Care, and Reproductive Health/Rights. ===＞GO to Index

This initiative was made possible by the grant from Asian Women's Fund.