8th March 2021
Japanese Women Have Always Been Struggling, But It’s Even Harder For Single Mothers
Bringing up a child single is tough enough, regardless of where you reside in the world.
However, when it comes to developed countries, one would expect the situation to be more comfortable.
Taking the case of Japan, this proves to be untrue, despite being citizens of a highly advanced country.
In general, Japanese women go through a huge amount of obstacles and suffer from profound difficulties in their country.
However, the situation is even more challenging for Japan’s single mothers.
As their number continues to rise annually, the financial and economic situation of Japanese single moms keeps deteriorating as they struggle to afford the most basic needs.
The surging number of single mothers in Japan
As stated by its Labour Ministry, Japan’s number of single-mother households rose by about 50 percent to 712,000 between 1992 and 2016, despite the country’s overall population decline.
The Japanese Welfare Ministry’s data also reveals that in 2016 alone, the country had 1.4 million single-parent families, out of which, almost 90% (equivalent to 1.2 million) were led by mothers.
Besides, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Japan now has the highest share of single mothers in the labour force of any country, at 85 percent.
A rich country that keeps its single moms in poverty
Despite being among the 10 richest countries with more than 10 million people in terms of GDP per capita, almost none of Japan’s wealth reaches its single mothers.
What blows the mind even further is that in such an advanced country, the poverty rate for Japanese single-parent families, mothers in most cases, has become as high as 56 percent.
Additionally, most Japanese single mothers live on less than 50 percent of the national median income, which is the poverty line defined by the OECD.
Even if they manage to secure a proper job, the odds are stacked against single mothers in Japan; working doesn’t necessarily mean that they are doing well financially.
The added toll of COVD-19
As COVID-19 keeps bringing about more distress for everyone, single mothers in Japan are taking the worst hit.
The current situation is particularly hard on them since most were already fighting to make ends meet when times were much easier than they are now.
To monitor the economic effects of the pandemic on single mothers, the Tokyo-based Single Mother Forum conducted a survey in April 2020.
Among the over 200 responses that the single-mother support group received, most are only working part-time or as temporary staff with approximately 70 percent stating that their jobs are unstable.
In addition, although almost 90 percent of respondents said that at the time, they still had jobs, more than 50 percent of single mothers claimed that their income has declined while 54 percent said they anticipate their revenue to drop in the future.
Finally, about 85% of respondents stated that the COVID-19 outbreak combined with school closures forced them to alter their work practices.
Some had to go home earlier as a result, while others had to take days off.
Such shocking numbers that reflect the outrageous living conditions of single mothers in Japan naturally raise the following question:
How can a nation that prides itself on being one of the world’s most advanced civilizations allow the most vulnerable members of its society to live in such dire conditions?
Japan’s oppressing culture treats women as second-class citizens
The tough situation endured by Japan’s single mothers for years mainly goes back to an important factor, which is the country’s culture.
Japan’s society has been known to hardly make any effort to hear the struggles of single mothers.
This is mainly due to the fact that Japanese women are considered secondary citizens, even in normal conditions.
In 2019, as confirmed by its income statistics, Japan fell to 121st place in global gender equality rankings, making this the lowest rank in the country’s history.
In fact, Japanese working women make about 30 percent less than men having similar jobs, while roughly 60 percent of women who work temporary, part-time, or contract jobs are paid the lowest salaries with mostly non-existent benefits.
For instance, in 2016, single mothers’ yearly revenue was two million yen (equivalent to $18,600).
Here, it is important to note that this is half the income earned by single fathers.
An important factor driving this massive gender pay gap has to do with the male-dominated culture in Japan, where women are expected to stay at home to raise children while men work.
As a result of this social and economic marginalization, Japanese women in most cases are so ashamed about their separations that they maintain it a secret from their friends and even their parents.
Japan’s laws do not protect women in case of divorce
Japan’s oppression against women explains why much of what the country’s single moms endure has to do with the taboo of separating from their husbands.
The divorce rate in Japan has jumped 66 percent in recent decades.
This number has soared since women became less tolerant to abuse, unfaithfulness, and men who demand that their wives’ careers be sacrificed for their own.
However, upon divorcing their husbands, less than 50 percent of single moms get alimony.
This makes the single moms who manage to get financial support from their ex-husbands the lucky minority.
Although, mothers have the option to sue for child support, according to Japanese legislation, the process is very challenging.
To get a father to commit to the payments, the mother has to know where the father’s assets are saved.
For instance, if he takes a new job and doesn’t inform her, she has no way to detect where he works and how much money he earns.
And, even if mothers persist and end up succeeding in winning child support, the amounts that they receive tend to be very low
Furthermore, the Japanese legal system lacks the option of joint custody.
After finalizing a divorce, men are required to do very little to assist in raising their children.
So, when couples separate, women often keep the children and have to take full financial responsibility for them.
To make matters worse, Japanese single moms can’t even depend on the state’s help due to the country’s safety-net reforms that have been advanced over the past twenty years.
The employment scene further takes advantage of single mothers’ despair.
Most of the Japanese corporations encourage the disadvantaging pattern of making women suffer and this makes life exponentially harder for single mothers.
Also, most companies don’t hire people unless they’re fresh out of college.
So, when a divorce happens and the mother ends up taking custody of the children, it becomes an almost impossible mission to find a decent job.
Overall, Single mothers are looked at as not reliable.
They often get questioned on who will take care of their children when they are sick, and employers are always worried about whether or not they would come to work.
Furthermore, years of economic stagnation hit Japan’s middle class, replacing many jobs with low-paying, part-time or contract positions.
This forces single moms to work multiple jobs at a time.
Solutions
Coming up with ways to support single mothers is highly crucial in Japan, especially since the government itself has done little to nothing to help.
However, clear plans and procedures need to be put in place, as their situation requires major long-term solutions.
