Deferred Benefits, Romance, and the Specter of Later-Life Divorce

In this paper, I describe how the threat of rising divorce rates among people near retirement has provoked conversations about ideals and expectations of marital relationships in contemporary Japan. A change in the pension law slated to go into effect in April 2007 enables divorced women to access up to half of their ex-husbands' future pension payments, making divorce more financially feasible for women who have not held full-time jobs. This legal change coincides with the oldest baby-boomers turning sixty and is generally predicted to create a boom in “later-life divorce” (jukunen rikon).In media images and people's conversations, these potential later-life divorces are dramatically gendered. It is commonly suggested that the vast majority will be initiated by women and will leave helpless husbands who are unable to perform basic domestic duties. Based on ethnographic research and participation in support groups, this paper describes reflections on and reconsiderations of marital ideals and family lives during the period immediately before the legal changes. In this analysis, I pay particular attention to media coverage, individual case studies, and the symbolic value of women's work and retirement.