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Extra, extra! Your best friends are getting happy divorced

26 Comments

Have you ever bumped into an acquaintance and asked how their spouse was, only to find out they got divorced a month earlier. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a way to avoid these social landmines which multiply with the ever growing divorce rate?

Divorce Newspapers have been developed in Japan which allow couples to distribute a report of the demise of their marriage to friends and family quickly and easily. It’s also a way for the newly divorced to save the embarrassment of telling each person individually and helps people to avoid social blunders like above.

The “divorce newspaper” is the creating of divorce guru Hiroki Terai, who is also a strong proponent of “divorce ceremonies.” Divorce ceremonies are either fun or solemn events aimed at giving the couple a chance to look back on their time together and part ways with a good feeling. In some cases divorce ceremonies have even led to a cancelling of the divorce.

Although a divorce newspaper is not a part of a divorce ceremony you do get 50% off the 11,220 yen one-sided copy or 15,490 yen two-sided copy price if you include an ad for the service.

Terai came up with the idea after frequently hearing during counseling sessions that divorcees want everyone to hear the news as quickly as possible but have trouble telling everyone in person.

Sure Facebook and Twitter are alternatives but switching your status to “single” doesn’t give others a peek into you mental state if they want to help. They also don’t let you get through to your 80-year-old aunt Ester or that friend we all have who’s still refuses to sign up to Facebook.

These newspapers offer a deeper analysis of the failed marriage as well. When you sign up, you and your ex are interviewed about your history, feelings, and other things you want included.

This information is then compiled into a newspaper format within the week and ready to deliver upon your approval. You also have your choice of three newspaper formats; the lighthearted “sports page” style, elegant “English headline” style, or exotic “South American” style.

The last two of those styles have headlines reading “Happy Divorce” which in normal circumstances is called an “Amicable Divorce.” Admittedly, the headline they went with has more zing than the latter.

For an extra charge, you can also have you and your ex’s life together converted into your very own Game of Life board. Each square represents a milestone in your relationship with the final square (goal) marked off as “Happy Divorce!”

These newspapers and board games might seem overly flippant under the circumstances but Terai insists that putting a positive spin on divorce can help everyone to move on to the next stage in life with a positive attitude.

Source: Official Divorce Ceremony Site via Excite News (Japanese)

© RocketNews24

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.


26 Comments
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Have you ever bumped into an acquaintance and asked how their spouse was, only to find out they got divorced a month earlier. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a way to avoid these social landmines which multiply with the ever growing divorce rate?

Duh. That's why you're not supposed to ask such specific questions in the first place, unless you really know the person, in which case you'd already know they've gotten divorced.

5 ( +4 / -0 )

Hopefully, one positive takeaway from this bizarre activity would be the decrease in intra-family homicides that are common here.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Oh my God! THIS story AGAIN????

Why is this stupid thing found to be so interesting on this site that every new add-on-fad for it has it's own article every 6 months or something?

6 ( +6 / -0 )

My advice is never take sides in a divorce between two people who are both friends of yours.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Again a stupid gimmick for a nation of people who can't communicate, or feel embarassed by something.

Just the same as the toilet device that makes a flushing sound to hide the fact you are peeing.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Stupid and distrusting, there is nothing happy about a divorce!

4 ( +5 / -1 )

only in Japan! people should learn/put effort in to communication so they would not even get to this point in the first place...

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I bet getting divorced in Japan also involves giving various people token amounts of money for no reason, like with practically anything else.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

The media plays the big role of promoting divorce. Celebrates and famous people are divorced and shown in the TV. Other media also giving top story. What a shame.. No one want to give top story of the pain and suffering of the children of those people. The sick adults who are controlling the media are all divorced? I have serious doubt about it. If you do not know how to marry, and the purpose of marrying, and the realities of the marriage then DO NOT GO FOR IT. That is a million times better than making children and leaving then with out a real parents as they expect from you as what a parent should be... This country will finish soon..... how sad it is...

3 ( +3 / -0 )

They also don’t let you get through to your 80-year-old aunt Ester or that friend we all have who’s still refuses to sign up to Facebook.

Still refuses? What?

Like am I considered a jerk and a loser because I refuse to sign up for some stupid thing with fake friends that steals every known fact about you?

Wrong

7 ( +7 / -0 )

cubic, why would you bet that? if it's a amiable divorce, usually the guilty part (cheating, etc.) pays an "apology fee" to the partner. If there are kids involved, pension. If it's an ugly divorce, whatever the court of law decides. Mine was amiable, no kids involved, but indeed the part of telling your friends and aquaintances is hard. To friends, because they want to know more than the simple "we divorced". To coworkers and relatives because they can't ask details and various stories will be born behind your back. you just want to magically forget the whole thing, and the more people you have to tell, the more difficult is to forget

0 ( +0 / -0 )

another amazing way to make money in Japan.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

This article goes with that one about foreigners getting asked if they are married, why /why not etc.

Jpns get it too, if under different circumstances and in different ways. This paper would be a solution for that problem in this culture I guess.

ppl keep repeating some kind of common-sense thing about nothing happy about a divorce, and the pain of kids. I was happy when my parents ended it when I was a teenager. Life isn't perfect for anyone, but if a situation isn't good, you have to change it.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Have you ever bumped into an acquaintance and asked how their spouse was, only to find out they got divorced a month earlier.

Have you ever asked a question only to end the sentence with a period.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

im sorry but I think this is a stupid idea. I don't even like the fact their is a relationship status on Facebook let alone publishing it in a newspaper. It's so annoying to see people go into or out of relationships. I happily have my relationship status "hidden" and thats they way it will stay. Stuff like this has turned everyone into narcissist and is a direct reflection of where society is at. It's all about who you're with, what you're doing right now. It gives a falsified ego boost. Like anyone really cares that you're with your girlfriend / boyfriend on a romantic date OR that you're now single OR that you're now not single OR that you had toast for breakfast.

/end rant

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Another smart companies who knows the locals will spend money on anything.

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

timeon

cubic, why would you bet that?

Because if you go to a wedding you have to pay JPY30k+, if someone has a baby you have to pay JPY20k+, if someone dies you have to pay JPY20k+, if someone goes to hospital you have to pay JPY10k+....life events in Japan generally involve illogical exchanges of cash (just don't give me a wedding/funeral 'omiyage' - thus saving your money and my money). My bet was that divorce would involve that too.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Have you ever bumped into an acquaintance and asked how their spouse was, only to find out they got divorced a month earlier.

Have you ever asked a question only to end the sentence with a period.

That was actually pretty funny...

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I don't think there's anything that wrong with asking someone how their spouse is. I also think part of being an adult is realizing. there might be times when you might have to answer difficult questions.

If you don't want to got into details you can always answer "Actually, we got divorced last month (or 2 years ago), but I'd rather not talk about it".

"Terai came up with the idea after ...."

More like he was just sitting around thinking about another way to make money.

The hardest thing about telling people about divorce isn't when it's a month ago, but the people you haven't met for 10 years who thought you were the last person to get divorced. and think you must be joking.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Interesting at all the peeps who figure Japan is "finished" or will have no country "soon" in light of an article like this. Wonder what would happen if they read a book or went on an actual trip somewhere.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Have you ever bumped into an acquaintance and asked how their spouse was, only to find out they got divorced a month earlier. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a way to avoid these social landmines which multiply with the ever growing divorce rate?

Hello its called facebook. We find out everyone on there now. As there saying goes its not official unless its stated on facebook.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

damnit! *everything.......

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

makes sense for a culture that wants to avoid disputes...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Uhm.....ever hear of Facebook?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I've had Japanese friends who got divorced ... and believe me, they were not "happy" divorces. I could write a book on some of the weird stuff I've heard about their divorces (especially the recent ones). Wild, to say the least.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I know that divorce is supposedly on the rise in Japan, but I still know very few divorced people here (or if they are, they are not admitting to it).

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

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