Why Are Cohabitatio and Extra Marital Births So Few in Japan 010623 Paper18 (1)

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Why a re coha bita tion and extr a -marital

birt hs so few in J apa n?

Makoto ATOH

Na tional Inst itut e of Populat ion

an d Social Secur ity Resear ch

Hibiya Kokusai Building 6th Floor

2-2-3 Uchisaiwai-cho, Chiyodaku

Tokyo 100-0011 Japan

atoh@ipss .go.jp

Paper presented at th e EURESCO conference

“The second Demogra phic Tran sition in Eu rope,”

Bad Herr enalb, German y, 23-28 J un e 2001



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Why are cohabitat ion a nd extra-marita l birt hs so few in J apan ?

1. The second demographic tr an sition in Ja pan

After th e end of the 1950s when J apan completed fert i li ty t ra nsi t ion from th e

tr aditional high fert ility regime to the m odern low fert ility regime, she kept a round t he

replacement level of fert i l ity up t o th e middle of the 1970s. But sin ce then J apan ese

fert i l i ty sank below th e replacemen t level and, by and lar ge, cont inued t o decline,

rea ching 1.34 in ter ms of th e to tal fer t i l ity ra te in 1999 (Figure 1). Such fert i l i ty

decline was caus ed ma inly by the postponement of ma rr iage an d chi ldbearing and

part ly by th e decline in ma rit al fertility (Atoh, 1992; NIP SSR 2000; Ogawa , 2000). The

proport ion never ma rr ied in the prime r eproduct ive ages cont inu ed to r ise s ince the

midd le of the 1970s u p to now: Those pr oport ions for women aged 25-29 an d 30 -34

increased from 21 to 48 percent a nd from 8 to 20 percent r espectively between 1975 and

1995 according to th e Populat ion Census (Figure 1). The mean a ge at first ma rr iage

for women cont inued to rise by 2.5 years from 24.2 to 26.7 year s old between 1970 and

1998 and, also, th e mea n a ge at t he first childbirth rose by 2.2 year s from 25.6 to 27.8

years old dur ing the sa me per iod accordin g to th e Vita l Sta tist ics (SID-MHW, 2000a).

In a ddition, th e cru de divorce ra te wh ich h ad been very low level, aroun d 0.7 per

thousand populat ion in th e 1960s, began t o r ise s ince then a nd rea ched 1 .94 per

thousand population in 19 98 . Th e life -time probability of divorce incre as ed from

ar oun d one out of eleven m ar riages to ar ound one out of six mar riages between 1965

an d 1990 (Taka ha sh i, 1997). Related to such increase in the divorce rate, th e

propor t ion o f rem ar r ia ge fo r women a mong the t ota l ann ua l num ber o f ma rr iage

doubled from a roun d 6 per cent in t he 1960s t o 12 percent in 1998 (SID-MHW, 2000).

All these demogra phic cha nges which occur red in J apa n in t he last quar ter of the

twen tieth centur y were, more or less, comm on to th ose which occur red in t he Wester n

societies since th e middle of th e 1960s, so th at such demograph ic chan ges in J apa n ma y

be called “th e second demographic tra nsition” (Van de Ka a , 1989). But th er e is one

conspicuous difference in their demograph ic situa tion between Ja pan an d the Wester n

coun tr ies , especial ly the North ern a nd Wester n Eu ropean coun tr ies : I t i s very low

prevalence of cohabita tion an d extr a-marital birt hs in Ja pan . According to the

Eleventh Na tional Fert ility Sur vey un dert aken by NIP SSR in 1997, th e proport ions of

never-ma rr ied women aged 20-24, 25-29, 30-34 who were curr ent ly coha biting with a

non-mar ried par tn er wer e only about 2.3, 1.0 and 1.5 percent r espectively (NIP SSR,

1999). Also, accord ing to th e vita l st at istics, th e proport ion of extr a-mar ital birt hs



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am ong th e total a nn ua l num ber of live birth s ha s been only one per cent-level, though it

has been very moderat ely increasing (S ID-MHW, 2000a). In contr ast with J apa n, the

proport ion of extra-ma rita l birt hs ha s been rising tremen dously among all th e Westernsoc ie t ies in th ese th i r t y year s , though th ere i s cu r ren t ly a l a r ge d ifference in th i s

proport ion a mong them: between about 39 to 62 percent for t he N ordic coun tr ies an d

about 4 t o 15 percent for t he South ern Eu ropean coun tr ies in 1999 (Coun cil of Eur ope,

2000). I t i s clear th at behind such rema rka ble increase in the extr a-mari tal bir ths

th ere h as been a corr esponding incr ea se in coha biting couples (Un ited Na tions, 1991;

UNE CE, 1997 2001).

Then, the quest ion is why cohabi ta t ion a nd extra -ma ri ta l b ir t hs a re so few in

J apan which h as h ad s imilar t rends with the Western societ ies with respect t o other

demogra phic chara cteristics. This question deserves purs uing for th e sake of shedding

light on root-cau ses of very low ferti l i ty in J apa n, because t her e is curr ent ly a st rong

positive cross-national corr elation between th e pr oport ion of extra -marita l births and

the total fertility ra te (Figure 2).

2. Why have cohabitat ion an d extr a-mar ital births increased so much in the Western

societies?

Up t o the middle of the 1960s, coha bitation an d ha ving extra -marita l birt hs ha ve

not been popular even in the Wester n societies. But t hey ha ve continued to increase

since th en. Then, why have coha bitat ion a nd extr a-mar ital births increased so much

in the Wester n societies since th en? Ther e are at lea st th ere possible explan at ions for

this question.

The first one is a technological explan at ion (Van de Kaa , 1989; Prest on, 1987).

The oral contr aceptive pill was developed an d came t o be prevalent in th e middle of the

1960s in t he Wester n societies. The pill is different from other contr aceptive meth ods

which ha d been popular in th e Western societies before t he int roduction of th e pill, such

as withdr awa l (coitus int eru ptu s), douche, or female clinical met hods like diaph ra gm,

foam or ta blet, in the point t ha t it was a female-domina nt , coitus-free, easy-to-use and

very effective meth od. With th is meth od more Wester n women cam e to cont rol their

p regnancies a n d bir ths as th ey wish with ou t depend ing upon th e i r par t ner . The

availability of the pill is th ough t to ha ve promoted “sex revolut ion”, th at is, the rising of

sex experiences among unmarried youth and cohabitation, because it led to the

reduction of th e fear of unwa nt ed pregnan cies am ong un ma rr ied women . The increase

of extra-marital births seems to have occurred after the sufficient increase of

coha bitation, or in other words, after coha bitat ion wa s a ccepted in a society as a wa y of



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life for t he youth .

Th e second one is an explana t ion by women’s emancipat ion. More a nd more

women have achieved longer and higher education, been engaged in gainfulemployment a nd con t inu ed to keep the i r job a f te r m ar r iage or ch i ldbear ing in the

Western societies since th e 1960s. Wage differen tia ls by gender ha ve shr un k, so th at

women ha ve come to be economically more indepen dent . As women becam e socially

an d economically more equa l to men, they desired to form an equal par tn ersh ip with

men . Since th e t r adi t iona l ma rr iage form was, more or less , char acter ized by th e

brea dwinn er-homema ker syst em (Davis, 1990), more eman cipat ed women chose to form

coha biting couples, expecting a m ore equal par tn ersh ip in it.

The th ird one is an explana tion by value chan ge (Van de Kaa , 1989 and 1999;

Lesth aegh e et al, 1988). Among youn ger people conform ism with r eligious t eachings

has been weakened, confidence in the existing religious organizations has been reduced

an d toleran ce toward a nti-social beha vior h as increa sed. As youn ger people were more

secularized, th ey cam e to cherish individu al freed om of choice as opposed t o existin g

inst itu t ional regulat ions . They cam e to place the high est valu e on th e desire for

self-actua lizat ion. Fr eed from the existin g religion an d morality, th ey bega n to

determ ine th eir repr oductive behavior as their individual rights for self-actu alizat ion.

As a result, such reproductive behavior as extra-ma rital sex, coha bita tion, extra -marital

b ir ths , d ivorce a n d abort ion which ha d been social ly repr oached before in creased .

While the a ge of the first demograp hic tra nsit ion wa s th at of “king-child”, the a ge of the

second dem ogra phic tra nsit ion becam e th at of “kin g-pair”.

3. Why ha ve coha bitation an d extra -mar ital births not increased in J apa n?

Now, let us tu r n t o th e ques t ion of t h e low prevalence of cohabi ta t ion and

extra -marital births in Japa n.

First , Ja panese fertility tr an sition in th e 1950s was mainly brought a bout by the

use of indu ced a bort ion wh ich h ad been legalized by the E ugenics Pr otection Law in

1948 (: This law was r enam ed and r evised as t he Mother ’s Body Pr otection Law in 1999).

Contraceptive behavior started to prevail among married couples in the 1950s,

gra dua lly repla cing abortion as a chief met hod for fert ility contr ol in th e 1950s an d 60s,

bu t th e con t r acept ive p reva lence ra te a mong marr ied women reached a p la teau of

relat ively low levels (ar ound 60 percent) in 1970s and rem ained t her e up to now (Figur e

3). Among contr aceptive met hods th e condom and th e rhythm method ha d been the

two most popular m eth ods for a long time, followed by with dra wal, but with th e gradu al

decline in the u se of the rh yth m meth od th e condom became th e single most import an t



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met hod for th e cont empora ry J apa nese mar ried couples (Table 1). The use of

female-domina nt an d effective meth ods, such a s th e pill, IUD a nd female sterilization,

ha ve been limited t o the min orit y par tly becau se of th eir legal ban or legal limitat ion forcont ra ceptive use. Gener ally speak ing, J apa nese mar ried couples have been able to

achieve th eir family size goal, about just m ore t ha n t wo children on a verage, by th e use

of male-domina nt cont ra captive meth ods, complemen ted by th e relying on legal induced

abort ion in case of cont ra ceptive failur es (Atoh, 1982).

The ora l high-dose pill was au th orized in t he 1960s for clinical purpose, but t he

ora l low-dose cont ra ceptive pill had long been ba nn ed a nd only in 1999 was a ut horized.

Only a few percent of ma rr ied couples had u sed th e ora l high-dose pill for cont ra ceptive

pur pose before t he legalizat ion of th e low-dose pill. Even afte r t he legaliza tion of th e

low-dose pill, the u se of th e pill did not increa se a mong ma rr ied couples (PP RC, 2000)

(Table 1). It is difficult t o guess r eal r eas ons why th e low-dose cont ra ceptive pill has

not been legally au th orized for a long time in J apa n. But t he fact itself seems t o ha ve

reflected, first, conser vat ive att itud e am ong medical people, who ha d th e decisive power

to aut horize the pi l l in th e adm inis t r izat ion of the Minis t ry of Heal t h a nd Welfar e,

toward repr oductive freedom for women, especially un ma rr ied women. Second,

feminism m ovement h as been wea k in th is field, too, in J apa n, compar ed with other

developed coun tr ies. This ma y be relat ed to the fact t ha t even highly educat ed women

did not wan t to use a vai lable fema le-dominant cont ra cept ive meth ods ma ybe due to

their own conservat ism or h esitancy to ta ke an initiative in sex-related ma tters.

Even wit hout t he h igh availability of th e pill, “sex revolut ion” occur red in J apa n,

too. Accordin g to time-series su rveys on sexua l beha vior a mong student s at various

levels, the pr oport ion of th ose who had sexua l int ercour se ha s increas ed at ea ch level of

schools in the 1980s and 90s (F igur e 4 ). Among th e unm ar r ied peop le the ma in

contr aceptive methods ar e a lso over wh elm in gly m ale-domina nt ones su ch as the

condom an d withdr awa l which h ave been popular a mong mar ried couples (JASE, 2000;

PP RC, 2000). Pa rt ly because of th is, the level of sexua l activities am ong th e single

you t h in J apa n lagged fa r beh ind th an in th e Wes tern socie t ies : th e p ropor t ion of

women a ged 20 ha ving ha d sexual inter cour se is at most 50 percent in J apa n, while 80

to 100 percent in ma ny Norther n a nd Western Eur opean count ries (J ASE, 2000; PP RC,

2000; NIPSSR, 1999; Unit ed Na tions, 1991 and 2000). In a ccorda nce with t he increase

in sexual a ctivities am ong the single, th e num ber of pregna ncies among single women

aged high teen s seems t o have increa sed, judging from th e fact of th e increase in t he

ra te of registered n um ber of induced abortions for t hem from 3.1 to 9.1 per t h ousan d

population between 1975 a nd 1998 (SID-MHW, 2000b). Also, th e proport ion of



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“shotgun marr iage”, th a t is , m ar ria ge with a pr e-mari tal pregnancy, has increased

probably in order to evade illegitim at e birth s (Ota ni, 1993).

Und er t he situ at ion in which the prevalence of female-dominant, effective andeasy-to-use contra ceptive m ethods, su ch as t h e pill , is low, pr e-marital sexes a n d

coha bitat ion would have a h igh risk of un wan ted pr egnan cies and birt hs, which would

be accompa nied, in tu rn , by th e inter ru ption of educational an d/or occupa tional car eer

for women un willingly. Ther efore, th ere is a possibility tha t a low prevalence of th e

low-dose pill affected by its long-ter m legal ba n h as been condu cive to a low preva lence

of coha bitat ion an d extr a-mar ital births in J apa n.

Secondly, it is tr ue t ha t J apa nese women ha ve been socially an d economically

emancipated. More women ha ve come to achieve higher educat ion an d th e gender gap

of ed u ca t i on a l a t t a i n m en t h a v e sh ru n k i n p os t war y ea r s i n J ap an . M ore t h a n 9 0

percent of female gra dua tes of compulsory schools a re enr olled in h igh schools since

ar oun d th e middle of th e 1970s, and a bout 50 percent of th ose gradu at es advan ce to at

leas t t wo-year col leges a nd jus t more t ha n 25 percent of them adva nce to four-year

un iversities (Figure 5). Ther e ha s been an increasin g ten dency for female stu dents to

choose depar tm ent s of un ivers i t ies tha t a re useful for occupat iona l car eer an d ar e

compet itive with ma le stu dent s, such as laws, economics, engineering, medicine an d

pharmacy rather than literature, arts and home economics (DSSP-MOE, 2000).

Women’s labor force par ticipat ion r at es ha ve increa sed since th e middle of th e 1970s at

lea st u p t o t h e en d o f t h e b u b b l e econ o m y i n t h e ea r l y 19 9 0 s (F i g u r e 6 ). W ag e

differentials by gender have shrunk dramatically up to now (MOL, 2000).

Also, value system s on gender roles and fam ilies ha ve cha nged gradu ally in t his

quar ter of a centu ry. Sur vey dat a collected before t he m iddle of the 1970s showed tha t

almost 80 percent of respondents, ma le or fema le an d old or young, agreed with such

views as “Women would better ma rr y”, “Men work out side, women k eep home” an d “It is

not allowable to get divorced, even if you are not satisfied with your spouse”.

Accordin g th e su bsequent sur veys, th ose proport ions cont inued t o decline and rea ched

40 to 60 percent-levels in t he 1990s (Atoh, 1997) (Table 2). Also in t he sa me per iod, the

proportion of th ose who supports t he view tha t women sh ould continu e th eir job even

after t heir childbearing ha ve increased from only about 10 p ercent-level to about 30

percent-level (Table 3).

Thus, J apa nese women h ave cha nged their at t i tu de as well as their behavior

regar ding their social and familial roles, though th ese cha nges have been gradu al. But

even h ighly-educated and/or profess iona l un ma rr ied women aged 20s a nd 30s ha ve

har dly dared to coha bit with th eir partn er. This may be partly due to their hesitan cy





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happiness with t he s tatus of ent i re J apan showed that in 40 years between 1953 and

1993 th ose who replied “It is only when J ap an is improved tha t individuals become

happy” decreased a l i t t le an d th ose who repl ied “J apa n becomes bet t er only whenindividua ls are ha ppy” did not show any notable chan ge (IMS, 1994). Anoth er su rvey

dat a for t he you t h showed tha t th e ra t es of rep l ies to th e ques t ion on a l te rn a t ive

at titu des between “The most im porta nt th ing is to sat isfy my own life” an d “Satisfying

my own life is not su fficient , an d I would like t o do th ings u seful to society ” rem ain ed

alm ost un chan ged for 15 years between 1977 an d 1992 (YS-PMO, 1994).

Individuat ion seem s to ha ve not so mu ch evolved as to break down tr aditional

fam ilism in J apa n in which lineal paren t-children relationsh ips are r egarded as m ore

importa nt th an hu sban d-wife (or m an-woma n) relationships probably, ha ving its roots

in the s tem fam ily syst em in t he pr e-modern Ja pan (Morioka, 1993). Tra di t iona l

familism seems to bind even the mind and behavior of young people in the

contemporary Japan.

Firs t, a ser ies of surveys on r eproductive behavior u nder ta ken in 1980s an d 90s

revealed tha t a lmost 40 percent of un ma rr ied women a ged 20s and 30s ha d had n o boy

friends an d almost 50 percent of unm ar ried men aged 20s and 30s had h ad n o gir l

friends (NIPSS R, 1999). Accordin g to anoth er sur vey, about 70 percent of un ma rr ied

women h aving no boy friends sa id tha t t hey were not da ring to look for t heir pa rt ner s by

an y mean s (Atoh, 1998).

Secondly, about 80 t o 85 percent of unmar ried working women a ged 20 to 34 sta y

at t heir par ent’s home (Atoh, 1998). Among th em about 60 percent sa id tha t th ey

sta yed ther e becau se it is economically difficult t o live indepen dent ly (Table 5). But

judging from t he fact t ha t a bout 40 percent of t hose aged 30s who could live th eir own

life indepen dent ly if th ey desired s o point ed t o such economic rea son, it is difficult t o

regard t hem a s a r eserve group for becoming independent from t heir par ents. Among

those who live away from t heir pa rent s, only about the ha lf said th at th ey lived alone

becau se they wan ted to become economically an d/or m ent ally self-relia nt . All th ese

data suggest that the orientation of self-reliance or independence from parents’

influence is very wea k am ong young women .

If most of th e youn g working women in th e contemporary J apa n is st ill boun d by

tr adi t ional fam il ism, then i t i s very na tu ra l tha t th ey do not dar e to l ive alone an d

eventu ally cohabit th eir partn ers.

4. Concluding Rema rk s

We have discussed why cohabitation and extra-marital births had hardly



8

increased in J apan in the las t qua rter of the twent ieth centu ry , notwithstan ding she

had had su ch demogra ph ic chan ges s imi la r to the Wes tern coun t r ies as th e r i s ing

proportion of the single people, the continuous postponement of marriage andchildbear ing, the increa sing divorce ra te a nd fert i l ity decline far below repla cemen t

level.

First, the low availability of female-dominant, effective and easy-to-use

cont ra ceptive meth ods, such a s th e oral pill, due t o their legal limitat ion seem s to ha ve

been part ly responsible for th is phenomenon in th e sense that u nma rr ied J apa nese

women would face the h igher risk of unwa nt ed pregnan cies tha n t hose in t he West if

th ey coha bit. But behind their legal limitat ion was there conser vative at titude

connected with t r adi t ional famil ism a mong medical people as wel l as a mong man y

women.

Second, J apa nese women h ave been ema ncipat ed socially and economically

an d the i r a t t i tude toward gender r oles in a fam i ly and in a socie ty have cha nged

gra dua lly. But t hese chan ges ha ve not led to th e increa se of coha biting couples. This

ma y be part ly due to their conservative att itude toward sex and cont ra ception but a lso

par tly due to th eir expecta tion of tra ditiona l gender r ole division even in coha biting

couples which is relat ed to such r eality as t he very limited sha ring of household chores

and childcar e by husban ds in m ar ried couples.

Third , secularism and individual ism ha ve progressed very gradu al ly in t he

postwa r J apa n, but individuat ion seems t o ha ve not so much evolved as t o break down

tr aditional fam ilism in which lineal relationsh ips are regar ded as more importa nt t ha n

husband-wife relationships, having its roots in the stem family system in the

pre-modern J apa n. The fact tha t more tha n 80 percent of unm ar ried working women

aged even ea r ly 30s coha b i t wi th t he i r pa ren t s seems to show tha t t hey fee l more

comfatable at th eir paren ts’home an d th ey have very weak motivation t o leave it an d

form a coha biting couple.



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Development (dra ft). A Report present ed at the Commission on Population an d

Developmen t: 33rd session (27-31 Mar ch 2000).

Un ited Na tions Economic Comm ission for E ur ope (UNNE CE ), 1997-2001, Fert ility an d

Fa mily Sur veys in Coun tr ies of th e Region: Stan dar d Coun tr y Reports , New

York: United Nations.

Van de Ka a Dirk J ., 1989. Eur ope’s Second Demograph ic Tra nsition, Populat ion

Bulletiru 42-1. Population Reference Bur eau.

Van d e Ka a, 1999. “Eu rope an d its P opulat ion: The Long View,” Eu ropean Populat ion

Conference, European Populations: Unity in Diversity, Kluwer Academic

Pu blishes, pp.1-50.

Yout h Section, Pr ime Minister ’s Office (YS-PMO), 1994. Ja panes e Yout h Seen in

Compa rison with Yout h of th e World: Fifth World Youth Value Su rvey, Tokyo

(Japanese).



11

Tabl e 1. Percent age Di st ri but i on of Marri ed Women who areCurrent l y Pract i ci ng Cont racpt i on by Cont racept i ve Methods

Cont racept i veMet hods

Cont racept i vePreval ence Rat e

Condom 35. 6 58. 3 68. 1 81. 1 73. 9 75. 3

Ryt hm 27. 4 40. 6 33. 9 23. 1 15. 3 16. 3

IUD − − 7. 2 8. 3 4. 7 2. 7

Pi l l − − 1. 7 3. 2 1. 0 1. 5

St eri l i zat i on − 6. 3 5. 4 2. 9 9. 8 6. 4

Wi t hdrawal 12. 7 11. 5 6. 9 5. 2 6. 5 26. 6

Ot hers 42. 3 37. 6 19. 8 6. 9 2. 5 0. 9

No Answer 15. 0 5. 3 3. 8 2. 4 2. 5 2. 4Source: (PPRC, 2000)

( 52. 1) ( 62. 2)

1969 19791950 1959

( 19. 5) ( 42. 7)

1990 2000

( 57. 9) ( 55. 9)

Tabl e 2． At t i t ude t oward t he Gender Rol e Di vi si on by Sex: 1972- 1992.

( %)D. K.

Sub Agree Somewhat Sub Somewhat Di sagree- t ot al agree - t ot al di sagree

1972Mal e 84 52 32 8 6 2 8Femal e 83 49 34 11 8 3 7

1982Mal e - - - - - - -

Femal e 71. 1 33. 2 37. 9 23. 7 17. 8 5. 9 5. 3

1992Mal e 65. 7 26. 9 38. 8 28. 6 20. 9 7. 7 5. 7Femal e 55. 6 19. 8 35. 8 38. 3 26. 4 11. 9 6. 1

Q. Do you agree or di sagree wi t h t he opi ni on t hat husbands shoul d work out si det he home and wi ves shoul d keep t hei r househol d?

Source: (PRS, 1972 and 1992; WAS, 1982)

Yes No



12

Tabl e 3. At t i t ude Toward Women' s Occupat i on

1 2 3 4 5 6, 7

Neverhave Unt i lwedding

Unt i l

havi ng ababy

Resume i t

af t er ki d' sgrowt h

Cont i nue i t

even wi t hki ds

Ot herD. K.

1972Mal e 15. 9 26. 2 15. 6 20. 9 9. 7 11. 6

Femal 7. 8 18. 6 12. 3 39. 5 11. 5 10. 31979

Mal e − − − − − −Femal 7. 0 11. 3 10. 8 39. 2 20. 1 11. 6

1984Mal e 9. 8 16. 4 13. 4 36. 1 15. 7 8. 6

Femal 6. 1 11. 1 10. 6 45. 3 20. 1 6. 91987

Mal e 5. 4 18. 2 14. 3 42. 8 12. 4 7. 0

Femal 3. 4 10. 2 11. 3 51. 9 16. 1 7. 01992

Mal e 5. 7 14. 8 15. 1 39. 2 19. 8 5. 3Femal 2. 8 10. 8 11. 1 45. 4 26. 3 3. 6

1995Mal e 4. 6 11. 1 12. 7 37. 1 27. 2 7. 2

Femal 4. 1 7. 4 10. 8 39. 8 32. 5 5. 4

Q. Whi ch of t he f ol l owi ng opi ni on do you agree wi t h? Sel ect one.

1. Women woul d rat her not have an occupat i on.2. Women woul d rat er have an occupat i on onl y unt i l t hei r marri age.3. Women woul d rat er have an occupat i on onl y unt i l t hey have a baby.

4. Women woul d rat her st op t hei r occupat i onal work at t he t i me of t hei r weddi ng ort hei r havi ng a baby and resume i t agai n af t er t hei r chi l dren grew up.

5. Women woul d rat her cont i nue t hei r occupat i onal work even i f t hey had chi l dren.6. Ot hers.7. D. K.

Source: Publ i c Relat i ons Sect i on, Pri me Mi ni st er' s Of f i ce, Opi ni onSurveys on Women i n 1972, 1979, 1987, 1992, and 1995.



13

Tabl e4. Aver age Ti me Spent f or Economi c and Househol d Work by Weekday or Sunday f or Mal e Marri ed Workers, Femal e Marri ed Workers,and Femal e Marri ed Non- Workers

(Uni t : hours. mi nut es) Year

Type of Work Mal e Female Femal e Mal e Femal e Femal eWorkers Workers Non- workers Workers Workers Non- workers

1981

9. 19 10. 25 7. 12 4. 31 7. 46 5. 58

9. 13 6. 41 0. 20 3. 56 3. 23 0. 16

0. 06 3. 43 6. 53 0. 34 4. 23 5. 42

19869. 32 10. 19 7. 05 4. 04 7. 31 6. 05

Economi c 9. 23 6. 27 0. 09 3. 18 2. 44 0. 08Househol d 0. 09 3. 51 6. 55 0. 45 4. 46 5. 56

1991

9. 31 10. 14 7. 00 3. 56 7. 10 5. 52

Economi c 9. 19 6. 16 0. 06 3. 00 2. 22 0. 05

Househol d 0. 12 3. 58 6. 54 0. 56 4. 48 5. 481996

9. 28 9. 56 6. 45 3. 43 6. 45 5. 39

Economi c 9. 15 6. 05 0. 06 2. 47 2. 08 0. 06

Househol d 0. 13 3. 51 6. 39 0. 56 4. 37 5. 33

Not e: In t he Basi c Survey on Soci al Li f e, dai l y l i f e acti vi t i es are di vi dei nt o t hree act i vi t i es: (1) t he pri mary ones necessary f or everyone,i ncl udi ng sl eepi ng & di ni ng, 2 t he secondary ones, i ncl udi ng economi cwork and commut i ng, household chores, and chi l dcare, and (3) t he tert i ary ones, i ncl udi ng l ei sure. In t hi s tabl e, t he second act i vi t i es t ot al workare di vi ded i nt o economi c and househol d works.

Source: Bureau of St at i st i cs, Management and Coordi nat i on Agency, Japan,The Report on t he Basi c Survey on Soci al Li f e i n 1981, 1986, 1991 and 1996.

Sunday

Househol d

Total Work

Total Work

Total Work

Total Work

Economi c

Weekday



14

Tabl e 5: Why Don' t You Live Al one?(％）

t ot al 16- 19 20- 24 25- 29 30- 34 35- 39 40- 44 45- 49100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

( 407) ( 12) ( 181) (130) (49) ( 14) (9) (12)

1. I want t o l i ve wi t h my 6. 1 8. 3 3. 9 7. 7 4. 1 − 11. 1 33. 3

2. I t i s economi cal l y di f f icul t t o l i ve i ndependent ly. 57. 0 83. 3 61. 9 60. 0 36. 7 42. 9 66. 7 16. 7

3. I don' t want t o l ower my l i vi ng st andard. 11. 8 − 9. 9 13. 1 18. 4 21. 4 11. 1 −

4. I f eel saf er l i vi ng wi t hmy parent s. 30. 2 33. 3 27. 6 30. 8 40. 8 42. 9 22. 2 8. 3

5. I can depend on my mot herf or househol d work. 28. 0 16. 7 29. 8 28. 5 30. 6 28. 6 − 16. 7

6. Parent s pref er l i vingwi t h me. 11. 8 16. 7 9. 4 12. 3 12. 2 28. 6 11. 1 16. 7

7. Parent s do not al l ow met o l eave t he house. 15. 7 16. 7 18. 2 12. 3 22. 4 14. 3 − −

8. Ot hers 12. 0 25. 0 12. 7 7. 7 14. 3 − 22. 2 33. 3

2. 0 − 1. 1 3. 1 2. 0 − − 8. 3

N. B. Unmarri ed worki ng women who l i ve wi t h t hei r parent s, onl y.

Mul t i pl e- choice responses up t o t wo.

Source: (At oh, 1998)

9. N. A.

Agei ndependent f romparent sReasons f or NOT becomi ng

Total

parent s.



15

Figure 1．Trends in the Total Fertility Rate and the Proportion of Women Never Married by age

Source: Ministry of Health and Welfare, Vital Statistics; Management and

Coordination Agency, Population Census.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

T o t al F er t i l i t uR a t e ( T F R )

（％）

TFR

Age 25∼ 29

Age 30∼ 34

P r o p or t i onn e v er m ar r i e d

Age 20∼ 24

Age 35∼ 39

Fi gure 2. The Proport i on of Ext ra- mari t al Bi rt hs andt he Tot al Fert i l i t y Rate: 1995

(注)婚外子割合は年間総出生数に占める婚外出生（非嫡出出生)の割合。

Source: Counci l of Europe, Recent Demographi c Devel opmens i n t he MenberSt ates of t he Counci l of Europe, 1995

1. 0

1. 2

1. 4

1. 6

1. 8

2. 0

2. 2

2. 4

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Extr a- mari t al bi rt hs

o t al

F er t i l i t y

R a t e

Icel and

Sweden

Norway

Denmark

UK

Fi nl andIrel and

Luxembourg

Aust ri aPort ugal

Netherl ands

Ger many

Swi t zerl and

Japan

Greece

( r=0. 78)

( ％ )



16

N.B. 1)The contraceptive prevalance rate is the proportion of ever-married women

aged less than 50 who are currently practicing contraception.

2)The abortion rate is the rate of the annual number of induced abortions

per 1000 women aged 15-49.

Source: (PPRC, 2000); (SID-MHW, 2000)

Fi gure 3. The Cont racept i ve Preval ence Rat e and t he Abort i on Rate

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000

C ur r en t

U s e

of

C on t r a c e p t i o

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

or t i on

R a t e

(％) ( ‰)

Abort i on Rat e2)

Cont racept i ve Prevalance Rat e1)

Figure 4. The Proporion of Students at Three LevelsWho Have Experienced Sexual Intercourse

Source: (JASE, 2000)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

1974 1981 1987 1993 1999

(％)

Mal e st udent si n Uni versi t i es

Femal e st udent s

i n Uni versi t i es

Mal e st udent si n Hi - school s

Femal e st udent si n Hi - school s

Mal e st udent si n j uni orhi - school s Femal e st udent s i n

j uni or hi - school s



17

Fi gure 5. Trends i n t he Enrol l ement Rates by Sex for Hi gh School s and Col l egesf or Japan: 1950- 1995.

Source: Di vi si on of St at i st i cs and Survey Pl anni ng, Mi ni st ry of Educat i on, Japan,A Summary of St at i st i cs of Educat i on.

0

20

40

60

80

100

1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000

( ％ )

Hi gh- School Mal e

Mal e

Femal e

Col l ege

Femal e

Figure 6. Trends in Labor Force Participation Rates by Age and Sex for Japan: 1975-1995

Source: Bureau of Statistics, Management and Coordination Agency,Population Census

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

15∼ 19 20∼ 24 25∼ 29 30∼ 34 35∼ 39 40∼ 44 45∼ 49 50∼ 54 55∼ 59 60∼ 64 65 orover

a b o r F o r c e P a

r t i c i p a t i o n R a t

(%)

19951985

1975

Female

Male

1985

1995

1975



18

Fi gure 7. The Rat i o of t he Ti me Spent f or Fami l y Mat t ers f orMal e Adul t Popul at i on i n Sel ected Developed Count ri es: Ci rca 1990

N. B. The rat i o of t he t i me spent f or f ami l y mat t ers f or adul t mal e popul ati on i s t ot he tot al t i me spent f or economi c act i vi t i es and f ami l y mat t ers i n a week.The data draws on var i ous surveys undert aken between 1985 and 1992.

Source: UNDP, Human Devel opment Report 1995, 1995.Burean of St at i st i cs, Managemnt and Coordi nat i on Agency.The Report on t he Basi c Survey on Social Li f e i n 1991.

1.00

1.10

1.20

1.30

1.40

1.50

1.60

1.70

1.80

1.90

2.00

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

Ratio of Time Spent for Family Matters (％)

o t a l f e r t i l

i t y

r a t e

Japan

Italy

Denmark

Aust ri a

UK

Net herl ands

Germany

Fi nl and

Nor way

Aust ral i a

USA France

(r=0.39)



19

Figure 8. Religious Mind and Veneration of Ancestors

Note A. Rate of respondents who replied "Yes. I believe in a religion" to the ques

"Do you have faith or religious mind?"

B. Rate of respondents who replied "I do" when asked

"Do you venerate your ancestors, or rather not?"

Source: (IMS, 1994)

0

1020

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

1953 1958 1963 1968 1973 1978 1983 1988 1993

A

B

(％)



20

Figure 9. Philosopy about personal life

Note: "What do you think is the closest to express your thinking among the attitudes listed below?"

１．I will work hard to become rich.２．I will live diligently and win a name for myself.

３．I will live a life fitting my taste, and not care about becomingrich or famous.４．I would take it easy and live each day nonchalantly.５．I will live cleanly and righteously forcing out all evils

in society.６．I will devote myself for the benefit of society instead of

thinking solely about myself.７．Others８．D．K．

Source: (IMS, 1994)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

1953 1958 1963 1968 1973 1978 1983 1988 1993

（％）

1. "Want to become rich"

2. "Seek fame"

3. "Live to my taste"

4. "Live on nonchalantly"

6. "Serve for the benefit of society"

5. "Live a clean and righteous life"



21

Add. Fig.1: Trends in the Crude Divorce Rate in Selected Developed Countries

Sourse：United Nations, Demographic Yearbook.Ministry of Health and Welfare (Japan), Vital Statistics.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

1935 1945 1955 1965 1975 1985 1995

C r u d e

D e v o r c e

R

a t e

Russia

Germany

U

Japan

France

Sweden

USA



22

Add. Fig.2: Women's Attitude toward Their Marriage by Birth Cohort

- Portion in favor of "Women should marry."

Note 1: The proportion of women who considered "Women should marry" is the total of the

combined rates of those who replied "Women's happiness lies in marriage,"

"Women can obtain mental and economic stability by marrying,"

and "Marriage is natural as humans."

Note 2: Survey results by 10-year age group for 3 survey years were recoustructed

into cohort data.

Sources: (PRS, 1972 and 1992 ; WAS, 1982)

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

1972 1982 1992

1963-72

1953-62

1943-52

1933-42

1923-32

1913- 22

(％)

Add. Fig.3: Women's Attitude toward Divorce by Birth Cohort- Portion in favor of "I may divorce if I am not satisfied with my spouse."

Note 1: Population of women who replied "I understand the feeling," and "I understand the

feeling to some extent" to the stalement "I may divorce if I am not satisfied with

the spouse."

Note 2: Survey results by 10-year age group for 3 survey years were reconstructed intocohort data.

Sources: (PRS, 1972 and 1992 ; WAS, 1982)

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

1972 1982 1992

1963- 72

1953- 62

1943- 52

1933- 42

1923- 32

1913- 22

(％)

Documents

Why Are Cohabitatio and Extra Marital Births So Few in Japan 010623 Paper18 (1)