Family (The Emperor’s Family) Ie (family) system
• The Civil Code of Meiji, 1898 Ie (family) consists of the head of the household and other members who live in the same house, and registered in one registry (Koseki) • This system was abolished in the new constitution in 1947. The Traditional Family • Head of the household is the unquestioned boss • The wishes and desires of individual family members must be subordinated to the collective interest of family • The eldest son is the heir both to the family fortunes and to the responsibility of family (primogeniture) • Marriages often arranged by parents • Several generations of family members live together Responsibilities of the Head of the Household • Economic welfare of the family, duty to support the family • Administration of family property • Welfare of deceased ancestors, conducting proper ceremonies in their honor • Overseeing conduct and behavior of family members Joining the Family
• By birth • By marriage • Adoption The Contemporary Family
• Nuclear Family • Marriage: Miai & Ren-ai marriages • Husband and Wife Relationships • Divorce • Old Age Koseki: Family Registration System
• Today’s koseki system: only two generations of family, husband and wife and children who share the same family name. • Jūminhyō: residence card • Ie (Kazoku) seido : institutionalized family system • 1898 Civil code • 1947 New Civil Code: Family system and the right of primogeniture were abolished. Equal rights for men and women Changing Status of Women
The first female governor of Tokyo since August 2016. Japanese Women in the Modern History
• 1868 Meiji Restoration • 1872 The Fundamental Code of Education requires four years of compulsory education for both boys and girls. • Women are for the first time granted permission to climb the sacred Mount Fuji in 1872. (In 1832, a woman climbed the mountain dressed as a man.) • 1879 Coeducation is abolished beyond the third year of elementary school • 1889 The Meiji constitution was promulgated. • 1898 The Civil Code Women’s discriminatory position in a family was legally justified. Blue Stockings (1911) Beginning of Japanese Feminism • Seito (Blue Stockings) was formed by Hiratsuka Raicho. • 1925 The Universal Manhood suffrage • 1945 (Dec.) Woman’s Suffrage Law passed. 1946
• First election after the suffrage. 39 women were elected to the House of Commons. 54 women inducted into police force. • The New Japanese Constitution was promulgated. • The Emperor’s Declaration of Humanity: No longer a “divine being.” 1947-1948
• 1947: The New Constitution Equality of the sexes • 1948: The Revised civil Code took effect family system was abolished The Eugenic Protection Law passed, legalizing sterilization and abortion in certain cases. And then
• 1956: The Anti-Prostitution Law passed • 1985:The equal Employment Opportunity Law passed • 1986: The Equal Employment Opportunity Law took effect • 1999: The Use of the contraceptive pill was legalized. Marriage Recent trend of Marriage
• 5.5% is miai marriage. Others over 88% • Early 1940’s: 70% was miai marriage. • Average age difference between husband & wife is small or the same age. • 1.5 for ren-ai, 3.9 for miai • husband is older: 56% wife is older : 24% , same: 20% -bachelor for life 20% (men) women 10% Recent trend • Average age of first marriage • Men: 31.1 Women: 29.4 (2017) • Marrying couple’s ages are closer, and now equal partnership is a norm. • Divorce rate: about 35% (2017), one out of three couples • Birth rate (2017) ….1.43 Tokyo: 1.21 Okinawa: 1.94 • Never married at age 50: men: 23.37% Women: 16.7% Aging Society
• As of 2015, people over 65 years old: 26% of total population • Estimated as of 2060, 40% of total population is over 65 • Life expectancy: published in 2018 Men: 81.09; Women: 87.26 Estimated: in 2060, Men:84.19; Women:90.93 Issues for discussion
• Adoption: US & Japan • Taking care of aging parents—who takes care of them
• Omiai ➞ Ren-ai • Internet site for meeting mates • Konkatsu (activities to find a mate) Questions & Answers
• The traditional ie (family) system no longer exists. • Is homosexuality accepted in Japan? estimated number: 2-2.5 million (2%) • “parsite singles” • “freeter” free(lance) + arbeiter • NEET: Not in Education, Employment or Training