Marriage and the Single Japanese Woman

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Rochester Area Right To Life

Japan’s Women Delay Marriage

There has been a lot of printer’s ink spent on the shifts in Japanese population in recent years. From being termed a country with a terrible overpopulation problem Japan is now acknowledging social and economic issues associated with a low birthrate and the resultant decline in population.

A recent Knight Ridder article points out that Japanese women are postponing marriage to an average age of first marriage of 27.2. In the early 1960s it was 24.5. Indeed, in Japan there seem to be few reasons for women to marry. Professional job opportunities not formerly open to women are now available to them and women, much more educated than before, are qualified for employment and promotion. However, to be qualified for promotion a woman must spend what Westerners regard as an exorbitant number of hours at work, just as men do, and Japanese companies have not shown an interest in flexing their schedules to accommodate pregnant women or mothers. Prospective husbands are likely to disapprove of a wife who continues a career, because wives are expected to focus on the household.

A single professional woman is likely to be living at home with her parents. She is able to spend her salary on herself, including such treats as trips to Paris or New York for fashions. Her time is her own and her social and cultural activities are no longer limited by custom.

Given this incentive to stay single, it’s not a surprise that the Japanese government’s bonuses for pregnant women were apparently not enough incentive for women to trade in the singles package for marriage.

Women are marrying significantly later. In 1980, 80 percent of women aged 28 were married. In 1995 the percentage had declined to 55. Today it’s 45%. Overall, Japan’s birthrate is currently 1.33 children per woman in her lifetime, as opposed to 2.1 in the U.S.

Economic pressure will probably continue to motivate companies to employ women as the population grays, especially since Japan has consistently resisted immigration as a source of workers.

Partial information source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, Dec. 22, 2002.


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