Old Japanese ladies are getting wise.

Ah, Japanese marriage... so dysfunctional. They really are becoming westernized!

Divorce rate rises following new split pension rule - MSN-Mainichi Daily News:

"The number of divorces increased over a one-year period up to April this year, possibly due to the implementation of a new system under which pension benefits are split between divorced husbands and wives, it has emerged.

A total of 259,064 couples divorced between May 2006 and April this year, 1,349 more than in the April 2006-March 2007 period, according to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.

"We can hardly think of any cause other than the introduction of the system under which employees' pension benefits are split between divorced husbands and wives," a ministry official said.

...The ministry believes that numerous couples postponed their divorces until the employees' pension benefit split system was implemented in April this year.

"News organizations reported in August last year that the Social Insurance Agency would notify couples of how much they would receive in pension payments if they divorced. Therefore, many couples postponed their planned divorces," a ministry official said."

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