|
Family Life
Japan Information Network. (2002). Electronic References.
Retrieved Mar. 2, 2002,
from
http://jin.jcic.or.jp/today/society/society2.html#fam
Before World War II most Japanese lived in extended families
of three or more generations. Family relationships were governed
by a rigid hierarchical system, and parental authority was
strong. Fathers commanded respect and obedience from their
children and, in turn, offered the same to their own parents;
married women were expected to faithfully obey their husbands
and parents-in-law. The process of democratization after the
war, however, transformed every aspect of Japanese family
life. Especially important was the revision of the Civil Code
in 1947, which gave women equal legal status with men in all
phases of life, thereby abolishing the old patriarchal character
of the family.
Rapid economic growth has had a large impact on family life
as well. One of the most conspicuous changes has been the
increasing number of people who live in nuclear families consisting
only of parents and children, a trend which has been strengthened
by urbanization and technological developments. Extended families
accounted for 44% of all households in 1955, but this ratio
has declined steadily, dropping to 19% in 1970, 16.2% in 1980,
and 12.7% in 1994. The ratio of nuclear families, meanwhile,
rose to 59.7% of all households in 1994.
Another major change in the family has been the sharp decrease
in the number of children born. In 1930 the average woman
gave birth to 4.7 children during her lifetime, but this number
fell to 3.6 in 1950 and 1.5 in 1994. This decline, together
with the growing trend among young people to find employment
in the city and live in company dormitories or on their own,
has contributed to a decrease in the average size of the Japanese
household, which now stands at 2.8 people.
As a result of the demise of the extended family and the increased
life expectancy of the Japanese, the number of elderly people
living on their own has risen. The ratio of households consisting
only of people aged 65 or older jumped from 2.2% in 1955 to
13.2% in 1994. Recently consideration of the problems that
elderly people face when living on their own, as well as the
merits of living in extended families, has led to a reappraisal
of the larger family unit.
|
