The mountain is moving, according to Patricia Morley, but mountains are, by nature, difficult to budge, and this particular one is demonstrating a firm attachment to its foundations.
Morley is writing about Japanese women's lives and the progress that women have made in Japanese society in recent years.
As Japan moves toward the millennium, social issues loom large. Notwithstanding its current financial turmoil, it is a nation coping with significant social change. The population is rapidly aging and a steady decrease in the average birthrate is only exacerbating this trend. The average age of marriage is rising, and more women are choosing to remain single for all the social, moral and financial freedom it provides and ensures.