Abstract

The Japanese family is experiencing a great deal more diversity in modern terms than ever before. These developments include the many issues of the Japanese imperial family, which in a sense a symbol for the ordinary Japanese family; an increase in the percentage of unmarried people at age fifty; de facto marriage; single-parent families; same-sex marriages; and more.
Junko Sakai has authored numerous popular works including “Grumblings of a loser” “The childless life” “Not yet a middle-aged woman” and “Woman for a century.” Her parents and brother having already passed, and living with a partner though unmarried, she holds a keen perspective on family issues. Tracking changes to Japanese views on family, this essay looks at the present and makes some projections for the future.

Author’s Information

Born 15 September 1966, essayist.