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Japan

Single Mothers At The Poverty Level



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.


Additional topics

Marriage and Family EncyclopediaMarriage: Cultural AspectsJapan - Mating And Marriage, Gender Roles, Masculinity And Men's Suicide, Decreasing Number Of Children - Leave for Working Parents, Conclusion