Divorced Newcomer Korean Women in Japan: The Decision to Remain in Japan and Lifestyle Adjustments

Abstract

In recent years, a rapidly increasing trend in international marriage has emerged in some Asian countries such as Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, displaying the common characteristics of an aging population, a shortage of wives, a low fertility rate, and delayed marriage (Oishi 2005). In terms of international marriage in Japan, scholars have argued that migrant women endure long-term hardships as a result of moving to Japan for marriage. There is also a noticeable tendency or bias in the literature to examine only the motivations of women who enter into international marriages, with Asian brides particularly likely to be represented as “marriage migrants,” which often carry negative connotations of economic motivations (Constable 2005, 2–4; Piper and Roces 2005, 4). Researchers have also stated that women’s motives for international marriage in Japan are mainly economic (Sugaya 1995). The dramatic increase in international marriages in the country began in the 1980s and the number reached 34,393 in 2009. Among international marriages in Japan, the rate for Korean women followed the same trend. Korean brides in the 2000s (a) came mostly from the cities, (b) were older and had higher education, and (c) had a higher rate of divorce than those Korean who women came to Japan in the 1980s. Regarding the flow of Korean female migrants, there are two types of push factors: social and gender.