Changing Implications of Marriage in Rural Japan

概要

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The difficulty in finding marriage partners in rural areas in Japan is becoming more prominent, especially among men. The main causes of this issue are discussed as the gender gap of evaluation towards marriage and family life and “inactiveness” of unmarried male farmers and so on. This paper will also note the structural lack of meeting opportunities for young farmers with young women in their working place as another factor, which ccounts for introduction of marriage promotion programs by local governments. In this paper, first, the author will identify the various kinds of programs, their purposes and various results. Further, it will analize the discrepancies between the purpose of the public programs and officials' personal meaning of the marriage. Secondly, I will discuss the results and impression from an interview with one match-maker. Thirdly, through the group interview with the 4H Club male members, we can examine differentiated implications of marriage and partner-choice, which move from a traditional viewpoints to a postmodern de-institutionalized one.