An increasing number of Japanese, especially women, are choosing to terminate legal relations with in-laws after the death of a spouse.

With Japan's graying society leaving more and more elderly requiring nursing care, the decision to break ties is becoming more prevalent as surviving spouses look to break tradition and be freed from the burden of caring for aged in-laws.

A widowed writer in her 40s, who uses the pen name Mayumi Sugihara, made the difficult decision to end ties with her husband's parents 1½ years after her spouse's death.