Jay Dwivedi

When I worked in Japan, what impressed me was the work ethics of Japanese salarymen.  While my colleagues and friends were dedicated, or should I say married to their jobs, it does not mean that they loved them.  When they had enough beer after work, they talked about not spending enough time with their kids or not being able to take a vacation (I think most of them were too embarrassed to mention not having enough time with their spouses and my understanding is that couples were married for social and financial reasons and rarely had the kind of bond that we expect here).  Not too long ago, that is how life was and while men toiled at work, women took care of their kids and if they could, traveled or shopped or attended tea ceremonies.  Divorce was almost non-existent.

It turns out that in just a decade things are changing; divorce is way up because of greater awareness among Japanese wives about dysfunctional marriages and lesser taboo of being a single mom.  But like anything else that happens in Japan, and that is why running MyNippon is so much fun, some Japanese are discovering new ways of ending a marriage.  No bitter fights, no meetings with lawyers, no arguments about money, but in a bizarre way, the couple gets together for a final time in a ceremony with friends and family in which they smash their wedding rings with a gavel, signifying an end to their marriage so that they can move on after divorce.