Women Must Quit Working? 3 Strange Features of Japanese Marriage

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Each country has different tradition in terms of marriage.

Japanese marriage is mysterious to foreigners.

Here are 3 after-marriage facts that foreigners find difficult to understand.

After marriage, some women quit working.

Some women, to be honest, marry because they want to quit their jobs.

Moreover, some think women’s happiness depends on marriage.

Being single seems miserable and they desire to marry to handsome men, hoping to obtain sufficient money and a happy life.

Although some women keep working after marriage, the number of women who quit working after marring is greater than that of Canada, US and other countries.

My female colleagues in Canada, for instance, keep working after marriage.

When they get pregnant, they would keep working up to 8 months or so.

Within a couple years of giving a birth, they would come back to work.

They may work part time or full time.

I think one of the reasons why some Japanese women quit working is because some companies ask employees to stay late.

In Canada, if you work Monday to Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., for example, you don’t have to work overtime.

At 5 p.m. everyone goes home.

Nonetheless, in Japan, even if you work Monday to Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., you might have to stay and work overtime from time to time.

Some companies consider overtime as norm in Japanese society.

Therefore, those employees who need extra money would (happily) work overtime.

Wives Control Money

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If wives work, of course they can spend and save their money.

They can do whatever they like.

In Japan, however, some wives also monitor husbands’ salary.

How it works is that after receiving salary, husbands give all to wives.

Then wives give husbands few ten thousands (e.g., 30,000 yen per month) and the rest would be used for rent and living expenses.

They work all day long and just get 30,000 yen as spare money.

What can they do?

They have to spend very carefully every month.

Call the Other Half “Mother” and “Father”

This especially happens after a child is born.

When the couple is newly married, they would use their first names.

However, after having a child, some would start call their partner “father” and “mother.”

In English speaking countries, people might say “your mother” or “your father.”

Nevertheless, in Japan, it’s different.

I think the reason is due to Japanese grammar.

As you might know already, we don’t use subject when talking.

For instance, you say “I’m hungry.” in English; we say “hungry.” in Japanese.

Of course even in English, subject could be omitted when talking.

However, Japanese do that more often.

When English speakers hear “mother” or “father” they would think “I am not your mother or father!!”