During the last half of the twentieth century, Western scholars and media experts often singled out Japanese women for their strong commitment to the roles of housewife and mother. Seemingly untouched by the gender revolution occurring around the globe, Japanese women tended to marry young, then drop out of the labor market and devote themselves to raising children and caring for their hardworking husbands. But events in contemporary Japan suggest that this exceptional pattern no longer holds true. Many Japanese women are postponing marriage and bearing fewer children – or avoiding these activities altogether.

In 1947, the average Japanese woman could be counted on to have 4.5 children in her lifetime. Just over 60 years later, the number has dropped to 1.3 (National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, 2003). In a few short decades, Japan has become one of the least fertile and fastest aging countries in the world. The country's population, now 127 million people, is projected to drop to 90 million by 2055. By that time, one in four Japanese citizens will be 75 years or older, according to projections by the Japan Center for Economic Research (JCER) (2007; see also Kaneko et al., 2008a).

This drop will undoubtedly have far-reaching effects on the economy of Japan, currently the second largest in the world. The shrinking workforce is one of the government's biggest concerns in light of estimates that the working-age population will drop to 44.5 million people by 2050, less than 70 percent of the 2005 level (Japan Center for Economic Research, 2007).