Japanese Women—Education and Employment

With the booming economy that Japan experienced in the 1960s and 1970s, the role of women saw, in Japanese terms, dramatic changes. Women, who traditionally were married young and stayed home to rear the children, were now finding jobs as the demand for goods and materials soared. Women were beginning to postpone marriage and to take their college education more seriously. There was also a budding awareness of women's rights.

The major role for women in Japan has been, and still remains, that of wife and mother. However, during the United Nations Decade for Women (1975-1985), three legal changes occurred in Japan. First, Japanese women were allowed to pass their nationality to their children (previously this had been a privilege given only to men); second, widows could inherit a larger share of their deceased husband's property; and finally, Japan adopted an Equal...