Japan PM’s divorce typical
Source: http://www.21stcentury.com.cn/article.php?sid=365&thold=0&mode=&order=0
LOS ANGELES TIMES
2001-06-21
KAMAKURA, Japan — The former wife of Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi paid a high price when they divorced 19 years ago.
They divided custody of their three children; she did not see her two boys again
and he never returned to meet his youngest son, then not yet born.
Japan’s new prime minister, 59, is widely described as a modern bachelor
determined to revolutionize Japanese politics.
But the story of his marriage and divorce reflects social traditions that are
still common in families like his.
The importance of a male heir to continue the family name and the fact that
joint custody is not legal here mean that fathers usually get the children.
Mothers now get custody in 80 per cent of divorces, as more have entered the
workforce and can support their children. But what makes the custody decision a
difficult one is the widespread practice of not visiting or allowing visits with
the other parent.
In Japan, meetings between divorced parents and children cease when either
parent remarries. In the new prime minister’s case, neither has remarried.
The family register law, which instructs that one name be used per household,
prohibits joint bank accounts and requires a husband and wife to take the same
last name, usually the husband’s.
Miyamoto, now 45, is not bitter. Her son, who carries his mother’s family name,
said: “Ever since I was born, for 18 years, I have never met my dad. I would
like to meet my dad and my two brothers, and I believe someday we can.”