Poverty among women outside the family in Japan

The process of rebuilding a life

Abstract

Although Japan is regarded as a country that has achieved relative equality, traditional Japanese values and social security policies have failed to solve the challenge of impoverished women living autonomously without relying on normative family models. Further, existing literature often portrays women only as victims or as people in need of support, and rarely discusses them as subjects who can solve their difficulties themselves. This study examined women’s deprivation and how they overcame the concomitant challenges, based on their own life stories.