THE JAPANESE TANSHIN FUNIN

This paper examines the tanshin funin, the Japanese commuter family. As a topic that has received little coverage in academia, this paper defines and explains the unique tanshin funin family structure that is found in Japan. Data were gathered from numerous sources, including interviews that were conducted in the Kansai region in 2000 and 2002, as well as secondary interviews and research that has been published by Japanese scholars and the media during the last two decades. First the absence of the tanshin funin from past family research is discussed, followed by the historical development of this family structure and the factors that enable and maintain its existence. The purpose of this paper is to recognize and explore the tanshin funin in Japan, as it is yet to be identified in Western academia.     

The influence of financial, human and social capital on Japanese men’s and women’s health in single- and two-parent family structures

Large-scale demographic changes have been occurring in Japan over the last few decades. During this time, the proportion of two-parent (nuclear) and single-parent families have doubled. Despite this rapid increase, the health of individuals in these family structures have received limited attention, as the focus has been directed towards the health of Japan’s aging society and the health implications related to the decline in multigenerational households. However, researchers and policy planners cannot afford to overlook issues that influence the health of men and women in single- and two-parent family structures, not only because these families have become increasingly common throughout the nation, but also because the western literature has indicated that the health of families are largely influenced by the gender-by-family structure divide. Through logistic regression models, using the 1999 Nationwide Family Survey, this paper examines how financial, human and social capital influences the likelihood of good health among men and women in single- and two-parent families. As was expected, key determinants in predicting good health amongst these four sub-groups of parents were found. While parents in two-parent families were the least influenced by various measures of capital, these same measures were found to be significant in predicting good health amongst fathers, and more so mothers, in single-parent families.