To better understand the views that Japanese women have on marriage and employment, Kumiko Nemoto’s conducted in depth interviews with 26 women from Tokyo. Some research states that marriage rates have gone down since the Japan’s bubble economy burst in 1990, but demographers understand the decline to be a result of a growth of educated women in society striving for equality in marriage. Nemoto argues the side of gender equality, therefore the women selected for the study have strong educational backgrounds and are likely to earn a high income. By ruling out factors such as cohabitation, the main reasoning behind declining marriage rates seems to be attributed to female success overpowering that of males. Historically, the role of the woman in households include a focus on housekeeping and raising children. Upon marriage, 80% of women would abandon the workforce to take on their role as caretakers. Nemoto looked into many variables when conducting interviews such as where and whom the women lived with, work hours, their parents’ marriage patterns, and opinions on marriage. Out of the reasons for postponing or opting out of marriage, Nemoto discovered that the top 4 reasons: Incompatibility with work life, sexism in the male, rejection from males, and marriage with a male of lesser income and intelligence. These reasons derive from a movement away from traditional female roles towards gender equality, but also a commitment to traditional family values.
Postponed Marriage: Exploring Women’s Views of Matrimony and Work n Japan by Kumiko Nemoto (Gender and Society Vol. 22 2008)