Fumie Kumagai

Factors Facilitating Japanese Married Women Entering the Labour Force

This article evaluates factors that facilitate Japanese married womens entrance into the labour force. Logistic multiple regression analyses of a national representative sample revealed six significant factors: Japanese married women eagerly seek employment outside the home who co-reside with their mother-in-law; whose youngest child is 0—10 years old; whose husbands annual income is low; whose husband is non-salaried; who reside in small communities; or who possess liberal attitudes towards traditional marital roles. Working outside the home is an effective strategy adopted by married women in traditional intergenerational families to reduce conflict with in-laws, particularly the mother-in-law. In future studies, the authors hope to analyse the event history of longitudinal data to pinpoint causes of labour force participation of Japanese married women across communities.

Demographic Changes in Japan

Population aging is one of the most striking phenomena throughout the world today, changing the way we all live. Japan is no exception. Elders are pulling away from their traditional multigenerational households, to live alone, or as couples.

Co‐residency living arrangement as a factor to facilitate labor force participation of Japanese women: community level analyses of Japanese families

Significant regional variations by prefecture level exist for the family and the elderly in Japan. This suggests that the Japanese family, and aging society as well, must be studied carefully with close attention to the socio‐cultural characteristics specific to each region and community (Kumagai, 1997a, 1997b). Therefore, it is essential to move the unit of analysis down to the community level rather than the national or even prefecture (regional) level. Social practices and cultural characteristics specific to each region and community are difficult to measure and quantify. Upon careful examination of Japanese married women in the traditional extended family, the theoretical hypothesis was postulated: Whether in urban or rural regions, regardless of the place of residence, married women living with their mother‐in‐law are likely to seek work outside the home. A national random sample of 3,662 Japanese women was analyzed. In conducting Chi‐square significance tests, this hypothesis is proved to be valid....

Possibilities for Using the Internet in Japanese Education in the Information Age Society

As the globalization of the economy has accelerated in recent years, the Internet has become an essential part of the infrastructure, primarily as a communications medium. In the Information Age society, the ADC principle (autonomy, distribution, and collaboration) has become an underlying assumption, which also applies to the institution of education. The fading power of Japan may come from its educational system, which emphasizes standardization and uniformity, while discouraging creativity and individuality. Now is the time for Japan to reevaluate its educational system at every level so that it better supports the societal and business needs of the Information Age economy. Therefore, this paper proposes five kinds of changes to the Japanese educational system. They are community networks, digital kids and participatory education, growing up digital and youth education, online higher education, and media literacy education for the elderly. First, community networks provide citizens with better and more convenient access to local services, activities, and information. Second, the notion of the digital kid suggests that it should be participatory, including all members of the community. Third, as digital kids grow up digital using the Internet would enhance both intergenerational and intra-generational communication in the twenty-first century. Fourth, online higher education should become widely available in Japanese society in the twenty-first century. Fifth, although media literacy education for the elderly in Japan is yet to come to its maturity, senior network groups are beginning to receive wider attention as they will provide Japanese elderly with a new avenue for communication. When and only when these educational reforms are pursued, will Japanese people be able to participate effectively in the global society.

Conclusion: Prevention and Intervention of Family Violence in Japan

How much is known by the global society about family violence in Japan is uncertain. This anthology, Family Violence in Japan: A Life Course Perspective, is an attempt to alleviate that situation. Although there have been many studies of different types of family violence in Japan, such as child abuse, elder abuse, and domestic violence, this study attempts to look at them together, to see, for instance, whether abuse as a child results in abuse later in life. It tests whether violence is a learned response to family stress.

Introduction: Toward a Better Understanding of Family Violence in Japan

Chapter 1 of this book, Family Violence in Japan: A Life Course Perspective, seeks to address five major issues: The definition of family violence A view of family violence as a social problem A view of family violence from a life course perspective Sociocultural characteristics which induce and/or suppress factors of family violence in Japan The future of family violence studies in Japan

Late-Life Divorce in Japan Revisited : Effects of the Old-age Pension Division Scheme

Late-life divorces in Japan, i.e., by couples married longer than 20 years, have become increasingly common since the mid-1990s. It had been widely speculated that a 2007 pension division law for divorcing couples would result in a significant increase in divorces.

Conclusion: Toward Globalization of Japanese Families

Today we live in the Information Age, and the world moves toward a global society. When news of Japan floods the media, events are not necessarily reported correctly. Part of this problem comes from the inability of Japan to clearly state its point of view to the global society. This inability, in turn, is partly because the Japanese people themselves lack a fair knowledge of Japanese history. This book, therefore, is an attempt to alleviate the situation through the field of family sociology. The organization of the book is as follows: Chapter 1: Introduction: A New View on Changes in Japanese Families Chapter 2: Demographic Changes in Japan Chapter 3: History of Courtship and Marriage in Japan Chapter 4: International Marriage in Japan Chapter 5: Changing Divorce in Japan Chapter 6: Late-Life Divorce in Japan Revisited Chapter 7: Japanese Elders Living Apart Chapter 8: Conclusion: Toward Globalization of Japanese Families

International Marriage in Japan: A Strategy to Maintain Rural Farm Households

The traditional Japanese family structure still persists today in Yamagata prefecture, according to the analyses of demography and the family. Rural farm households there, however, were in a critical situation in maintaining traditional stem families. So, a countermeasure was developed, to bring foreign brides into the area. The marriage “market” there had become extremely imbalanced with an acute shortage of marriageable women. One of the major factors contributing to the declining fertility rate in Yamagata is a lower marriage rate. In fact, the rate for men who have not married by 50 years of age in Yamagata is nearly one in five today (1960, 1.12 %; 2010, 18.71 %). Thus, in the mid-1980s, foreign brides started to be brought into Yamagata, initially through municipal efforts.

Japanese Elders Living Apart: Policy Suggestions

The onset of Japan’s aging society in 1970 came relatively late among Western industrialized nations. Afterward, however, population aging in Japan has been progressing with unprecedented speed, with a substantial increase in elderly living-alone households, and significant regional variations. This progress of the Japanese aging society is quite different from what has been observed in Western nations.