Conclusion: Toward Globalization of Japanese Families

Abstract

Today we live in the Information Age, and the world moves toward a global society. When news of Japan floods the media, events are not necessarily reported correctly. Part of this problem comes from the inability of Japan to clearly state its point of view to the global society. This inability, in turn, is partly because the Japanese people themselves lack a fair knowledge of Japanese history. This book, therefore, is an attempt to alleviate the situation through the field of family sociology. The organization of the book is as follows:

• Chapter 1: Introduction: A New View on Changes in Japanese Families

• Chapter 2: Demographic Changes in Japan

• Chapter 3: History of Courtship and Marriage in Japan

• Chapter 4: International Marriage in Japan

• Chapter 5: Changing Divorce in Japan

• Chapter 6: Late-Life Divorce in Japan Revisited

• Chapter 7: Japanese Elders Living Apart

• Chapter 8: Conclusion: Toward Globalization of Japanese Families

Discussion carried out in this concluding chapter is based on the following four points. First, the chapter summarized major findings, implications, and limitations of each topic studied in the book. Second, the chapter attempts to relate the two theoretical models, the dual structural model and the regional variation perspective, to family issues discussed in the book. Third, the chapter presents the author’s view of Japanese families in the era of population decline. Fourth, the author discusses as to what Japan could do to become a global partner in the scientific community. The author strongly hopes that Japan’s quest for globalization may become a process not only of learning from its equally advanced neighbors but also of sharing with them all that it has come to know.