Divorce
Divorce
"Divorce in middle-age cuts a decade off a man's life, according to Shukan Post (10/28), which adds that Japan is bracing itself for a wave of split marriages when baby boomers start retiring in a couple of years.
Japan's divorce rate peaked in 2002, when 289,838 couples untied the knot, and though the rate has declined marginally ever since, splitting up appears to have fatal consequences for the country's men.
Japan's "2007 Problem" sees baby boomers turn 60 and start retiring, causing a decrease in the workforce and tax revenue and increase in demands on the taxpayers to pay for old age pensions. It could also spark an increase in deadly divorces.
"Women are almost always the instigators of divorce in middle-aged couples. There are many housewives who wait until their husbands have received their retirement pay before they ask for a divorce. At the moment, there are loads of these women just waiting for their husbands to retire," Divorce consultant Hiromi Ikeuchi tells Shukan Post.
Right now, housewives who've never done a day's paid work can still claim an old age pension. Even if they divorce in middle or old age, the government will pay them a basic pension regardless of the terms of their divorce.
But in 2007, the system will change. Women will be able to receive up to half of the husband's entitlements, which for most salarymen are significantly higher than the basic pension. And the government will ensure payments are made to both parties. This makes it much easier for older women to divorce their husbands, but it's killing older Japanese men, according to the weekly.
The National Institute of Population and Social Security Research says that divorce shortens the lives of middle-aged or old men.
"Our institute calculates the average life spans of four types of people those with spouses, the unmarried, those whose spouses have died and those who live alone after divorce," the institute's Ryusaburo Sato tells Shukan Post. "Those who are alone following a divorce have the shortest life spans of all..."
Mainichi Newspaper, October 21, 2005
"Divorce in middle-age cuts a decade off a man's life, according to Shukan Post (10/28), which adds that Japan is bracing itself for a wave of split marriages when baby boomers start retiring in a couple of years.
Japan's divorce rate peaked in 2002, when 289,838 couples untied the knot, and though the rate has declined marginally ever since, splitting up appears to have fatal consequences for the country's men.
Japan's "2007 Problem" sees baby boomers turn 60 and start retiring, causing a decrease in the workforce and tax revenue and increase in demands on the taxpayers to pay for old age pensions. It could also spark an increase in deadly divorces.
"Women are almost always the instigators of divorce in middle-aged couples. There are many housewives who wait until their husbands have received their retirement pay before they ask for a divorce. At the moment, there are loads of these women just waiting for their husbands to retire," Divorce consultant Hiromi Ikeuchi tells Shukan Post.
Right now, housewives who've never done a day's paid work can still claim an old age pension. Even if they divorce in middle or old age, the government will pay them a basic pension regardless of the terms of their divorce.
But in 2007, the system will change. Women will be able to receive up to half of the husband's entitlements, which for most salarymen are significantly higher than the basic pension. And the government will ensure payments are made to both parties. This makes it much easier for older women to divorce their husbands, but it's killing older Japanese men, according to the weekly.
The National Institute of Population and Social Security Research says that divorce shortens the lives of middle-aged or old men.
"Our institute calculates the average life spans of four types of people those with spouses, the unmarried, those whose spouses have died and those who live alone after divorce," the institute's Ryusaburo Sato tells Shukan Post. "Those who are alone following a divorce have the shortest life spans of all..."
Mainichi Newspaper, October 21, 2005
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