To file for divorce in Japan, both parties, husband and wife, must agree to the process. However, if one party passes away, the widow (er) can initiate a process known as shigo rikon (死後離婚 lit.: “divorce after death”).
This process is becoming increasingly common in Japan, especially among women who, in most cases, no longer want to have any relationship with the parents of the deceased spouse, as it is known that the widow (er) has a legal obligation to care for their aging in-laws.
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How does posthumous divorce work?
If you want to sever ties with your in-laws, you only need to fill out an official form. The form asks for your personal information and the personal information of the deceased spouse.
The in-laws cannot interfere in this matter, nor do they receive an official notification of the divorce after the fact. A widow (er) can file this termination report at any time after the death of a spouse. There is no waiting period or deadline for its submission.
Although this process is not new, only today are Japanese people opting for Shigo Rikon because, due to social pressures, it was not customary to choose this type of procedure.
According to statistics compiled by the Ministry of Justice, the number of posthumous divorces grew only very gradually until 2013 (April 2013 to March 2014), when 2,167 forms were submitted.
The number of forms modestly increased to 2,202 in the fiscal year of 2014, but jumped more than 550 to 2,783 the following year, and by the end of 2016 reached 4,032, an increase of almost 50%.
Shigo Rikon and the traditional view
Since Japan was an agricultural country for much of its history, these traditional views come from villages where agricultural culture had a collectivist tendency.
Until the second half of the 20th century, most of the Japanese population were farmers and agricultural workers. When a woman married, she practically ceased to be part of her family and became part of her husband’s family and vice versa.
When a spouse passed away, the surviving party had the legal obligation to take care of their in-laws after the death of the husband/wife.
This legal obligation was even included in the Civil Code of Japan in the late 19th century, after the Meiji Restoration. However, this system was revoked after World War II, under the New Constitution.
It was after World War II that it became possible to sever marital ties even with the death of the spouse.
Shigo Rikon and the present day
These legal provisions included in pre-war Japan were abolished after World War II. However, the thinking behind them remains ingrained in the minds of today’s older Japanese.
However, industrialization caused the youth of the time to migrate to more urban areas. As a consequence, a different lifestyle was adopted, directly affecting this traditional view.
It has now become common for women to hold jobs outside the home. Many wives continue to work after marriage, just like their husbands. Thus, they help support the family financially while also managing the household and raising children.
This family style where both parents work demands a lot. Therefore, there are not many financial and emotional conditions to support the in-laws of the deceased spouse.
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