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It's not clear that (2) is true. Support for the idea that "the husband should work outside and the wife should care for the household" remains surprisingly str

by mti 12y ago

It's not clear that (2) is true. Support for the idea that "the husband should work outside and the wife should care for the household" remains surprisingly strong in Japan (people are roughly evenly split between for and against), even among younger generations. Actually, according to the latest Cabinet Office survey, support is stronger among 20-39 year olds than 40-59 year olds (see [0]), and only a few percentage points lower among women vs. men. Similarly, a majority of respondents of the Japanese General Social Survey think that "in case the husband's income is sufficient, it is better for the wife not to work". But economic realities make such lifestyle choices difficult. For example, when asked what level of household income would be sufficient for them to consider getting married, a plurality of Japanese women cite a figure of around ¥500k net per month [1], which is around the limit of the top quartile of household incomes, and way above what unmarried men typically make on their own. As for (3), I'm not particularly interested in debating whether "Japan is a racist country", but getting Japanese citizenship is far from being impossible. In fact, the rejection rate of formally submitted naturalization applications is about 1% (consistent over at least the past decade, see e.g. [2]). [0]: http://www2.ttcn.ne.jp/honkawa/2410.html http://www2.ttcn.ne.jp/honkawa/2410.html [1]: http://jgss.daishodai.ac.jp/english/research/monographs/jgssm3/jgssm3_02.pdf http://jgss.daishodai.ac.jp/english/research/monographs/jgss... [2]: http://www.turning-japanese.info/2012/05/10-years-of-naturalization-statistics.html http://www.turning-japanese.info/2012/05/10-years-of-natural...

chaostheory 12y ago
I don't particularly trust survey results conducted by the Japanese Gov for the following reasons: 1. Saving face is the most important thing in Japanese society. Based on history, Japan's government is not above molding things like survey results to fit their agendas like the preservation of Japan's nuclear family or hunting endangered whales and other fish 2. In psychology, we're aware that people don't necessarily do what they say. I would guess that this is even more true of Japanese society at large. I wouldn't be surprised if many respondents merely gave answers based on what they felt people expected. Japanese society is a polite society. It is less direct and less truthful when you compare it to other cultures. Of course I could always be proven wrong.

by mti 12y ago

chaostheory 12y ago

I don't particularly trust survey results conducted by the Japanese Gov for the following reasons: 1. Saving face is the most important thing in Japanese society. Based on history, Japan's government is not above molding things like survey results to fit their agendas like the preservation of Japan's nuclear family or hunting endangered whales and other fish 2. In psychology, we're aware that people don't necessarily do what they say. I would guess that this is even more true of Japanese society at large. I wouldn't be surprised if many respondents merely gave answers based on what they felt people expected. Japanese society is a polite society. It is less direct and less truthful when you compare it to other cultures. Of course I could always be proven wrong.