FUKUOKA -- Divorce and remarriage have been possible in Japan since feudal times, though until recently shame and social stigma ensured that few unhappy couples formalized their differences -- let alone took the plunge again.
For women, in particular, divorce was often a fast track to destitution -- unless they found sanctuary in a kakekomi-dera (refuge temple).
Now, though, the nation's marital disharmony is officially up there with the West's, with the number of divorced couples having shot up from 1.29 per 1,000 head of the population in 1989 to 2.0 in 1999. The surge in second-time singles means Japan has now overtaken France's 1.9 per 1,000 -- though it still trails Britain's 2.7 (for 1998) and the United States' whopping 4.1.