Spouse Selection And Marriage Timing In Japan

As is the case in Western industrialized countries, Japan is seeing a rise in the number of unmarried couples, later marriages, and divorces. What sets Japan apart, however, is that the percentage of children born out of wedlock has hardly changed in the past fifty years. This book provides the first systematic study of single motherhood in contemporary Japan. Seeking to answer why illegitimate births in Japan remain such a rarity, Hertog spent over three years interviewing single mothers, academics, social workers, activists, and policymakers about the beliefs, values, and choices that unmarried Japanese mothers have. Pairing her findings with extensive research, she considers the economic and legal disadvantages these women face, as well as the cultural context that underscores family change and social inequality in Japan. This is the only scholarly account that offers sufficient detail to allow for extensive comparisons with unmarried mothers in the West.

Yoshida addresses the common misconceptions of single, never-married women and aims to uncover the major social and cultural factors contributing to this phenomenon in Japan. Based on interviews with married and never-married women aged 25-46, she argues that the increasing rate of female singlehood is largely due to structural barriers and a culture that has failed to keep up with economic changes. Here is an academic book that is also reader-friendly to the general audience, it presents evidence from the interview transcripts in rich detail as well as insightful analysis. Important sociological concepts and theories are also briefly explained to guide student readers in making connections. Thus, this book not only serves to enlighten readers on current issues in Japan – it also provides sociological perspectives on contemporary gender inequality.

This fully updated second edition provides a unique and comparative analysis of family trends in Asia by focusing on the most relevant and significant aspects of family, from the process of dating to the impact of economic development on homes and family life as they are experienced across Asia.

This book examines the changing nature of dating and mate selection in contemporary China, and addresses a wide array of both causes and consequences concerning mate selection, including economic change, traditional cultural norms, evolving gender roles, and both marriage and fertility aspirations.

This book discusses communication principles, processes, and skills from four different perspectives by explaining four related propositions. First, human communication is guided by socially established rules, the knowledge of which allows interacting persons to exert influence over the outcome of their interactions. Second, self concepts are formed and sustained in our interactions with others. Third, the formation of sustained interpersonal relations depends upon the attraction resulting from reciprocal self concept support. And fourth, organizations and the cultural system provide the parameters within which self concepts and interpersonal relations are formed. The implications of these propositions are examined in chapters two through ten. The authors develop their system in terms of results. What patterns of communication—what patterns of signal exchange—increase the probability of the development of affective relationship? What patterns erode interpersonal systems or prevent them from forming? The book also examines patterns of communication within task-oriented organizations and in situations involving cultural differences.

Research on the family has expanded considerably across Asia but studies tend to be fragmented, focusing on narrow issues within limited areas (cities, towns, small communities) and may not be accessible to international readers. These limitations make it difficult for researchers, students, policy makers, and practitioners to obtain the information they need. The Routledge Handbook of Families in Asia fills that gap by providing a current and comprehensive analysis of Asian families by a wide range of experts in a single publication. The thirty-two chapters of this comparative and multi-disciplinary volume are organized into nine major themes: conceptual approaches, methodological issues, family life in the context of culture, family relationships across the family life cycle, issues of work and income, stress and conflict, family diversity, family policy and laws, and environmental setting of homes. Each chapter examines family life across Asian countries, studying cultural similarities and differences and exploring how families are changing and what trends are likely to develop in the future. To provide a fruitful learning experience for the reader, each chapter offers examples, relevant data, and a comprehensive list of references. Offering a complete interdisciplinary overview of families in Asia, the Handbook will be of interest to students, academics, policy makers and practitioners across the disciplines of Asian Studies, Sociology, Demography, Social Work, Law, Social Policy, Anthropology, Geography, Public Health and Architecture.

Includes sections "Book reviews" and "Periodical literature."