An estimated 33% of married couples get a divorce each year, according to the Japanese government. Why do you think the figure is so high and do you think this is a worldwide trend?

Trevor Peace

Who chose to marry those men? You want to say that those men had acted differently to those women before marriage, and then all of a sudden they became misogynist after getting married? The fact is, and the experience of enough men shows this, that women are attracted to those same guys they call ,,misogynist'' and then later complain about them being that way.

You need a reality check as soon as possible.

My wife and I just clocked up 30 years of marriage....with a couple of years co habiting/travelling before getting hitched.

Marriage is like a garden...if you ignore it, weeds will take over .

I'm lucky too....my wife is still a hottie , we make each other laugh, and she never has a bad word to say about others.

People, you have to put in some work to make marriage work.

33% isn't incredibly high compared with some other nations. Still, I understand why the number in Japan is increasing. When Koizumi passed laws (or started the process going, anyway) to allow elderly women who divorce to keep half their husband's pensions Japan became #1 in the world for senior divorce rates. I remember talking to so many old guys I know who were suddenly scared and that they were learning to help with housework. A lot of comparatively younger women (and men), too, are realizing they don't have to gaman for the sake of the family unit, and that the family unit is quite miserable if they try to do so, and are making a go of it on their own instead of resigning themselves to a life of unhappiness.

Divorce is not a bad thing when the marriage IS a bad thing. In fact, I'd like to see the trend being less and less people realizing you don't need to sign a contract at City Hall to be with the person you love.

I can think of a few causes:

Not understanding what marriage is and what it takes to make it successful

Lack of genuine sacrificial love

Emotional immaturity

Lack of honest communication

Happy marriages are the backbone of a healthy society. I hope the Japanese can do better.

The king or queen size bed is the surely successful platform for a divorce.

And of course, twin beds in separate rooms will certainly guarantee a happy life long marriage. Such a simple geometrical theorem to prove. QED.

Marriage is overrated, why make permanent commitment when people change. Your mental state and the one you married a few years ago will change. Waste not your life's journey, and be free!

The marriage contract is the most important legal contract most men will ever enter into yet it's unwritten and most men have only a vague idea what they're committing to legally. The reason the marriage contract isn't available in clearly written form for men to read and understand before signing is marriage would come to a screeching halt if men actually knew what they were committing to.

 Marriage councillor are confronted with how to deal with porn addiction that is a modern factor which was never a major factor in breakups before the internet.

I bet that large collections of National Geographics broke up a few.

On the personal issue, I think that the generation of Japanese in their 20's to 30's grew up as only children and had little to no father figure growing up, hence, they were raised incompletely

I think you could be right, the lack of present fathers will have an impact.

The rate is high in Japan because of the misogynist attitudes of males and the newfound attitudes of younger women who won't put up with that crap. It's not rocket science, just a sociological shift away from male dominance. And about time, too.

yeh nothing at all to do with a legal system that guarantees mothers full custody of children, 50% of the mans assets and monthly childcare.

Making it easy to divorce, leads to more divorce. Who could have guessed it.

Pretty Princess Day magic wears off, and the bride realizes the reality of marriage is not magical.

It higher in Japan world wide, but a world wide trend in higher % of divorce can be contributed to online porn. Marriage councillor are confronted with how to deal with porn addiction that is a modern factor which was never a major factor in breakups before the internet.

Sometimes people just get tired of each other.

*(this is two thousand and twenty two) **Freedom** and information** makes people realize something: there’s actually a world out there; and if you don’t truly love that person, you don’t need to be stuck to him/her for the rest of your life. Life’s short.*

those who remain "married" for convenience but are with different partners.

technically illegal, and the spouse can sue that new partner for a big chunk of her/his assets.

If you're married and have fallen in love with someone else, proceed with extreme caution.

I noticed when I tried to 'vote up' on some posts, it wouldn't work only down vote? What's going on?

I do agree with Trevor Peace.Cheers

That does not include those who are separated but are not divorced, and those who remain "married" for convenience but are with different partners.

There is less stigma about divorce now, which means people have more freedom to live their own lives.

Regarding what an increase in divorce means and what should be done, a fairer approach to custody of children is clearly needed. The current system can be extremely cruel.

I don't know enough to comment on what happens with assets, but if your retirement is based on a couple living in a single household, its going to cost more if becomes two people in two households.

What TrevorPeace said. Excellent post

many feels to be married equals to loosing own freedom

Even losing their own freedom.

Getting married is old school upbringing.

Sons / daughters get married with pressure from parents and society.

Both or one then find it is not a good arrangement and hence divorce.

i believe that this is worldwide trend.

many feels to be married equals to loosing own freedom and opportunities.than many feels does not want to take responsibility/ kids and so on/.

just a few thoughts from many.

actually i have never been in situation like that so cant say more...

I know this chick who recently got married to her guy, whom she dated for three weeks before them deciding to get married. Since month one of dating, they argue at least 4 times on a weekly basis. They're still arguing that much and even use insults like "you crazy bi#$h."

Why did they get married when they hate each other that much? Because she's always dreamed of being married and having a wedding. Specifically having a wedding (no matter who).

Three months later after the wedding, even thou the reason why they argue is so obvious, she still hasn't realized the why. It's so dumb.

In many places around the world, including Japan, people see marriage as the next point to check off the list as someone progresses through life. High school? Check. Uni? Check. Get a job? Check. What's next? Marriage? Check. Get a house? Check. I think people see getting married as something to achieve, which results in choosing a partner too carelessly. When both partners want to get married generally and soon, rather than wanting to find the best marriage partner for them personally, it results in a lot of "permanent" unions that don't work well enough to stand the test of time, and to withstand life's more challenging moments. And when that becomes obvious years down the line, divorce becomes the answer.

I used to work at a Japanese university, and I'd talk to a lot of male students who had a marriage goal. "I want to be married by the age of 24." "Really? Do you have a serious girlfriend now?" "No." Just something to achieve.

Couples should be able to live together instead of marrying. Marriage is an outdated form of contract.

The number is low.

I know several couples who are planning to divorce when the kids graduate from high school/college; others who aren’t divorced but live separately.

Why not divorced? The stigma of being the child of a divorced couple is still high; the father actually wants to see the child grow up.

Why are people divorcing? Other than the above reasons, I think the couple grows up.

Currently society deems it ‘proper’ that 25-28 year-olds should get married. After a few years they realize they don’t want to marry him or her or be married at all.

An estimated 33% of married couples get a divorce each year, according to the Japanese government

I think this number 33% might actually be describing the ratio of divorces to marriages each year. See wikipedia "Divorce demography" section "Divorce-to-marriage ratio", and see the number for Japan ~ 35%.

Notably, the "Divorce-to-marriage ratio" doesn't indicate the average length of marriage until divorce. For example, suppose a population with a constant number of marriages each year, but also a the same number of divorces but only after being married for 40 years. Then that ratio would be 100.

two things: financial issues and personal issues. With the global economy becoming worse by the coming period, living together at often times will often lead to people spending more and if one partner is more financially responsible than the other, it will cause friction. On the personal issue, I think that the generation of Japanese in their 20's to 30's grew up as only children and had little to no father figure growing up, hence, they were raised incompletely (this is just my opinion and my generalization, I may be wrong) and are socially ill-prepared for a life of marriage.

The rate is high in Japan because of the misogynist attitudes of males and the newfound attitudes of younger women who won't put up with that crap. It's not rocket science, just a sociological shift away from male dominance. And about time, too.