New divorce law could jolt Japanese husbands
Some Japanese husbands are in for a rude shock come April, when a new law comes into effect that entitles their wives to claim as much as half of their retirement allowance if they divorce.
And, according to at least one marriage counselling centre, divorce is apparently exactly what a growing number of middle-aged Japanese women are plotting.
'Women have known about this change ever since it was introduced and they have made preparations,' said Hiromi Ikeuchi, director of the Tokyo Family Laboratory marriage counselling centre.
Mrs Ikeuchi, the 44-year-old author of The Costs and Benefits of Divorce in Middle Age, said Japanese women have a laundry list of grievances.
'They are tired of being regarded as simply the mother of the children or someone to take care of the home of their husbands,' she said. 'And that's why I'm expecting the divorce rate to explode next year.'
The peak year for divorces in Japan was 2002, when some 290,000 couples split up, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
The rate had crept up in the previous decade but then began to decline, falling to 284,000 in 2003 and 271,000 the following year.
Mrs Ikeuchi believes women have been biding their time, and that in the 12 months after the start of the fiscal year on April 1, there will be more than 300,000 divorces. Many will be older couples where the break-up will be initiated by the wife.
An estimated 7 million Japanese 'baby boomers' will retire around April 1 - the vast majority of them men - and many of them are completely unaware that their wives are planning to leave them with only half a pension.
