Tips for understanding Japanese Women

Women and Marriage/Family

Non-traditional family structure is increasing in Japan, with the average number of family members decreasing dramatically. The average family in prewar Japan had more than 5 members, in contrast to 2.99 members in 1992. Significantly, the emergence of the modern "Westernized" family structure is seen in today's Japan.
-Percentage of Nuclear family : 59.5% (1993) 1
-Percentage of single-person household : 24.5% (1993)
-Percentage of elderly-only households : 22.8% (1992)
Marriage is seen almost universal in Japan
Divorce rate of 1992 was 14.5%, much less frequent compare to the one of U.S. 47%.
Divorce still means to Japanese as a termination of relations between parent and child in addition to husband and wife, and married couples are tend to be willing to sacrifice their individual happiness for the sake of welfare of the family and children. The proportion of households headed by single-mother is only 1.2% of all the Japanese households.
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-Men: 28.4 years old (1992)2
-Women: 26.0 years old (1992)
The average age of first marriage for both men and women in Japan is one of the highest among industrialized countries. It is considered that the delay of first marriage is the result of women's high enrollment to the higher education.
Average length of relationship before engagement (for the couples married in 1987-1992) was 2.32 years. 3
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Arranged marriage is still a form of spouse selection in Japan, about 15% of all marriage in 1987-1992 were arranged. The higher the age of a husband or wife at first marriage, the more likely it is that the marriage is arranged. Love marriage is more frequently occurred in urban area than rural area.
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In 1989, the fertility rate of Japanese women went down as low as 1.57, and draw a tremendous impact on Japanese society so-called "1.57 Shock". The trend of decreasing fertility is still seen, the number of 1992 was only 1.50. The most common reason for women to have less children is economic reason.
It is quite rare to have children without marriage, the proportion of children born from un-wed mothers is only 1.1%. (1992)
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Although domestic violence in Japan is believed being frequently condoned, it remains largely unreported. Domestic Violence is the number two reason for women to seek divorce, next to the disparity of the personalities. Victims often fear of bringing family shames, and even reluctant to talk about the violence. In recent years, many police and local public offices have established special consultation department for women to handle cases of spousal abuse.
1,2 Data from Statistical Bureau of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 1993.
3 Data from Institution of Population Studies, Japan, 1994

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Last modified: 2/17/98 by M.Seko