Many Japanese families live in large urban areas.
Japanese home life is strongly rooted in ancient traditions yet boldly more progressive and modern than most other nations in the world. This interesting dichotomy has produced some of the most interesting facts and figures about family life in the world, and provides an interesting model for other globalized traditional societies. Home life in Japan is strongly influenced by modern technology, the western world and rapidly changing social norms, but at the same time is shaped by powerful forces that reach back into the earliest history of the culture.
Single Women Live at Home
80 to 90 percent of single Japanese women live at home with their parents. Most do not do housework or pay rent.
The Nuclear Family Rules
Ever since World War II, the nuclear family has been steadily edging out the extended family as the most common form of family living condition. Three generation households now number less than 30 percent of Japan's total.
Women do the Housework
The average Japanese women spends 4 1/2 hours a day on cleaning and housework. The average man spends 23 minutes.
Long Distance Love
Husbands frequently move to other cities for jobs in Japan, meaning that they only have the chance to visit their wife and family on the weekends.
Fathers often Sleep Alone
In Japan, Mothers often sleep in the same bed with the young children while the husband sleeps in his own bed in another room.
Employer Paid Marriage Benefits
It is common in Japan for employers to pay employees up to 10 percent extra as a marriage allowance and provide cheap housing for the family.
Legitemate Children
As of 2001, only 1 percent of Japanese children were born out of wedlock. In the U.S. 32 percent of children were are registered "non-marital."
Single Men Live at Home Too.
Half of all single Japanese men in their 20's live at home with their parents.
A Mistress is Sometimes Acceptable
Traditionally it was acceptable for a Japanese man to have a mistress if his wife could not bear a child. If the mistress bore a child, the child often went to live with the man and his wife.
Marriages Begin Apart and Grow Together
Marriages often begin as a planned marriage between two strangers but have a higher success rate than the U.S. where arranged marriages are rare.
