Changing Divorce in Japan

Abstract

A century of historical perspective on divorce in Japan confirms that it occurred at an extraordinarily high rate before the turn of the century, and then declined until 1964. But with the progress of industrialization to even more ad vanced levels during the postwar era, divorce rates in Japan have gradually risen again, although not to the same high degree as in the West. For the first time, there seems to be a positive correlation between the level of industrialization and urbanization in Japan and the increasing divorce rate in the nuclear family. Recent statistics on divorce in Japan show that more and more women initiate divorce, that an increasing number of divorced women prefer to remain single, and that changing patterns of divorce have resulted in a lowering of the fertility rate, all of which may have significant implications for the demographic future of the Japanese population. With the development of industrialization and urbanization, the Westernization of lifestyles, and the growing autonomy of women in society, an increase in the divorce rate in Japanese society is likely. It is true, however, that the family is still one of the most fundamental institutions in Japan. It is to be hoped that the value traditionally accorded to the family will counteract the recent upward trend in divorce rate and reduce it in the foreseeable future.