In its second extraordinary budget approved last week, the government allocated about ¥140 billion in aid for single-parent households. Yet while Japan’s overall population is declining, the number of single-mother households in the country rose by about 50 percent to 712,000 between 1992 and 2016, according to … Around the same time, her husband switched jobs. poverty Still, her circumstances are by no means easy. However, the country still appears to be healthy and thriving. The discussions one encounters on the Internet tend to portray the lot of the single mother as either a grueling struggle or a rewarding challenge. ), employment Such a collective attitude makes it more difficult for women to access education to higher paying jobs, and dismisses women who might pursue relationships and children outside of marriage. In Japan, single mothers struggle with poverty and a ‘culture of shame’ Masami Onishi, 23, with her daughters, Yua, 3, and Sora, 6, on a bicycle. Which portrayal is closer to the truth? As social stigmas begins to change, single mothers in Japan will continue to fight to live in a country that respects all tracks to motherhood — married or not. This time restriction then forces them to assume lower paid jobs with worse benefits — working women in Japan make 30 percent less on average than men doing the same job. Of the total, 80.8% are divorced, while a mere 7.8% are unwed mothers. At first, the only work she could find was through a temporary staffing agency. According to a 2012 report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the “price of motherhood” in Japan is exceptionally high, with working mothers earning some 60% less than working fathers on average. A— is a single mother with two children, who are currently in high school and college. The organization focuses specifically on women who have chosen before becoming pregnant to have a child and raise them on their own. The Japanese government has also begun to implement changes to help the growing numbers of single parents. At the same time, divorce tends to exact the highest penalty from women who initially conformed to society’s expectations by interrupting their careers; those who keep their jobs tend to fare better. More than 50% are nonregular employees, and the ratio of nonregular to regular is growing year by year. After her children had begun elementary school, she was finally able to secure regular employment with a small company. The group provides a community for women who desire to lead lives outside of Japan’s norms, and supplies information on prenatal care. In Yamato City in Kanagawa Prefecture or Kunitachi City in Tokyo, the monthly stipend comes to 10,000 yen, and other provisions are available for divorcees. This system had and continues to have its intended effect. Let us turn now to some fairly typical real-life cases of single motherhood in Japan. Although a full 80.6% of single mothers are employed, their annual wage earnings average only ¥1.81 million, less than half the average for all Japanese households. The number of single mothers is definitely on the rise in Japan. As the foregoing suggests, life as a single mother in Japan is a precarious affair, often hovering between desperation and fulfillment. Then come the challenges of parenting an adolescent. child allowance. It boasts modern buildings, clean streets and is home to some of the richest people on earth. Even after bearing four children, she remained stuck in the role of persecuted bride. Japanese culture also dismisses female higher education, men often feeling “uncomfortable” to share the classroom with women; girls are pushed into two-year vocational schools instead. This setup is also seen as a benefit to women as they will then, allegedly, have more time to find a husband and start rearing children in the societally accepted timeframe. (Originally written in Japanese on July 21 and published on August 12, 2015. Compounding all these difficulties is the inadequacy of the public assistance available to Japan’s single mothers. Then came problems with her older son. The system took root in the 1950s and 1960s to support a standard family structure consisting of a husband who worked long hours outside the home; a wife who stayed at home to handle all household chores, take care of the children, and nurse the elderly (supplementing her husband’s income through part-time work when necessary); and their children. Another common reason for divorce is domestic violence. She read up at the local library and came to the realization that her only way out was divorce. In Japan, a high school diploma is a prerequisite for many professional licenses and certificates. People who have completed only middle school have very limited career options; many find themselves unemployed or in low-paying non-regular jobs. Fortunately, A— was not a helpless victim. Despite the stigma against single parents, single mothers in Japan are moving forward with the help of the Tokyo-based organization Single Mother by Choice and the new government-provided Child-Rearing Allowance. Their average annual income, including all government benefits, child support, and alimony, is ¥2.23 million, about half of Japan’s median household income. Another 7.5% are widows. Nonregular employment, which has risen among both men and women, now accounts for almost 70% of the positions occupied by women. What is it like to be a single mother in Japan? The root cause of this vast income disparity is a social system built around the concept of the husband as breadwinner. The two major forms of public assistance available to single mothers in Japan are the child-rearing allowance (jidō fuyō teate) — primarily for divorced parents— and the child allowance (jidō teate), a benefit for low-income households with children. Those who must make do with temporary, part-time, and hourly work average a mere ¥1.25 million. Most women in Japan who take on the “challenge” of single motherhood do so because they have no choice. After a confrontation with his mother, he ran away from home. This welfare system supplies families in need with residual income so that they will be able to effectively care for their children. This dissonance between facts and appearances is due to the stigma surrounding poverty in Japan. According to figures released by the National Tax Agency, in 2010 about 43% of all working women were earning ¥2 million or less annually. According to the Nationwide Survey on Fatherless Families, conducted every five … welfare domestic violence After her divorce, she found work as a waitress but was able to earn no more than ¥50,000–¥60,000 a month. single mothers A— was fortunate in that she had the inner resources to cope with the crisis caused by her husband’s gambling debts, and the network of social relationships that she built after her divorce helped her and her son through the crises of adolescence.