Defining the Heisei Era: The fragmentation of the family in Japan
Hatsune is Akihiko Kondo's dream wife. Petite and animated, she always greets him with a cheery smile when he returns home from a hard day at work and selects his favorite TV channel. She even sings him a song and charges his phone. She isn't really ...
Japan's rigid koseki system keeps it all in the family
Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Mio Sugita is being criticized for comments she made about how LGBT individuals should not receive government “support” because, biologically speaking, they can’t have children and are thus “unproductive” as members of society. Although the media have covered her remarks ...
Parents of 13 in California torture case ordered to stand trial
A judge on Thursday ordered a married couple to stand trial on 49 counts of torture, false imprisonment and abuse over the treatment of 13 siblings who were found imprisoned and starving in their suburban California home, prosecutors said. David and Louise Turpin were bound ...
A court on Wednesday found constitutional a legal provision that allows only men and not women to file a lawsuit denying the legal fatherhood of a child, dismissing a claim filed against the state by a family for damages related to the accuracy of ...
Number of middle-aged, first-time fathers on the rise in Japan
More men in Japan are waiting until middle age to start fatherhood but find that their greater experience can help offset some of the worries.
Sawako Ariyoshi's 'The River Ki' explores characters who swim against life's current
When we read Japanese history it's easy to forget that the revolutionary changes that washed through the country from the 19th century into the 20th all took place within a single human life span. The River Ki, by Sawako Ariyoshi.256 pages KODANSHA, Fiction. Sawako Ariyoshi takes this ...
U.S. gender experts slam Supreme Court ruling backing same surname for spouses
U.S. gender equality experts on Wednesday criticized a ruling by Japan's Supreme Court upholding a law requiring spouses to use the same surname, describing the law as outdated. "Having the same name as her husband is not necessarily against her self-interest, but it should be ...
Experts say surname verdict reflects top court's gender, age makeup
Questions have been raised as to whether a better gender balance among the top court's 15 justices might have resulted in a different outcome.
Plaintiffs express shock at bad precedent set by court's decision on shared surnames
Plaintiffs contesting family laws that require spouses to choose a single surname expressed shock and anger at Wednesday's Supreme Court ruling, saying it sets a bad precedent and will force more women to suffer the misery of having to change their name upon marriage. In ...
The Supreme Court confirms the constitutionality of a controversial law requiring married couples to use the same surname in official matters.
Ex-leader of Hikaru Genji not father of Kitajima's son
The Tokyo Family Court has ruled in favor of actor and former pop idol Mikio Osawa, who had denied any biological connection with the son he allegedly fathered with actress and ex-wife Mai Kitajima. The case went to court last month after Osawa, former leader ...
Japan should re-examine the idea of marriage to help spur a baby boom
After decades of a national conversation about the need for more babies, there is still disagreement as to what sort of measures Japan should take in order to increase its birthrate. The obstacles are financial, social and physiological, and before they can be addressed ...
