There was a time when Japanese women "wanted a man making about $100,000. Now they'll go for a combined income of $50,000-60,000," says Mikiko Matsumoto of O-Net, one of Japan's biggest matchmaking services. After the March 11 triple disasters their membership jumped 30 percent from the same period a year before. "People realized the importance of marriage and family," she explains. But, she says, more couples also split.
Indeed, divorce is also fueling the singles boom. In 2007, the number of divorces initiated by women surged after a new law granted wives half their soon-to-be-ex-husband's pension after retirement. Keiko Kamijinaka counts among her friends several women who married early, had kids and divorced, but are doing fine as a single breadwinner. "Being divorced [in Japan] doesn't have the negative image it used to have," she explains. And many don't want to marry again, she adds. "Too much trouble." (Time)
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