“When it comes to the Japanese family, the Heisei Era could be characterized as an era in which the conventional family was no longer seen as a social requirement,” says Takeshi Goto, a multimillion-selling author, historian and researcher of the Heisei Era, which draws to a close on April 30. Up until the economic boom years of the 1960s and ’70s, Japan emulated many other advanced industrialized nations, boasting a template of an “ideal” family that was built around a clear delineation of spousal duties. Yet experts such as Goto feel that recent patterns of single households are merely trends and will not last for the long-term. Former University of Tokyo Graduate School sociology professor Chizuko Ueno sheds some optimism. “The Heisei Era might have seen the end of modern family. However, it does not necessarily mean the end of the family itself,” Ueno said. Read the full story on The Japan Times online. (Rob Gilhooly photos)
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