ABSTRACT
The Japanese family is characterised by change and diversity (White, 2011). Both scholars and social observers unequivocally agree that the direction of this change is away from the past image of the traditional Japanese family – i.e. a three-generation stem family where the in-laws live with the eldest son and married-in daughter-in-law and expect the younger couple to bear children, especially sons, to ensure family continuity. Moreover, the changing nature and diversity of Japanese families reflect the country’s current socio-demographic characteristics, such as the increase in old-person-only households, the higher number of singles in the population, the low birth rate and rising trends of divorce and separation. As a consequence, Japanese women are placed in a precarious position: while seen positively as forming the emotional and nurturing core of the family and a fount of resistance (Borovoy, 2005), they are at the same time accused by conservative commentators of being the source of family crisis, through their resistance to marriage and having children (White, 2011).
