Tough choices : bearing an illegitimate child in contemporary Japan

This book offers the first detailed study of why the number of unmarried Japanese mothers has hardly changed since 1955, despite the prevalence of certain factors in Japan (more later marriages, higher divorce rate, and so on) that have brought about significant increases in lone mothers in even the most conservative western industrialized countries. As is the case in Western industrialized countries, Japan is seeing a rise in the number of unmarried couples, later marriages, and divorces. What sets Japan apart, however, is that the percentage of children born out of wedlock has hardly changed in the past fifty years. This book provides the first systematic study of single motherhood in contemporary Japan. Seeking to answer why illegitimate births in Japan remain such a rarity, Hertog spent over three years interviewing single mothers, academics, social workers, activists, and policymakers about the beliefs, values, and choices that unmarried Japanese mothers have. Pairing her findings with extensive research, she considers the economic and legal disadvantages these women face, as well as the cultural context that underscores family change and social inequality in Japan. This is the only scholarly account that offers sufficient detail to allow for extensive comparisons with unmarried mothers in the West. "Naturally I believed I would get married" : making the choice Navigating work and welfare Legal discrimination against unwed mothers Are unwed mothers "immoral" or "impressive"? : the role of social stigma and shame in upholding family norms "The worst child abuse is the absence of a parent" : the role of guilt.