Japan

The rate of single-mother households was 1 percent in 1999—that is, among the total of 44,923,000 households, there were 448,000 single-mother households. Among all single mothers, 85.1 percent are widows, 7.5 percent are divorced, and 1.6 percent have never been married.

The standard of living for single mothers is lower than that of two-parent households. Average annual income decreases by almost one-third to 2,150,000 yen (approximately US $21,500), compared to a household with both husband and wife at an annual income of 6,480,000 (approximately US $64,800). Given the high cost of living in Japan, many single mothers need social welfare support.