I only know of a couple of cases personally of divorce- one of the foreign professors at my old university divorced his Japanese wife (messily) and it went through the courts for about half a dozen years- exacted a huge toll on his health but she kept the house and he got the kids.He also had to educate the judge and his lawyers about the western concept of a marriage partnership and the role of each partner in a relationship. “If you have seen ‘War of the Roses’ with Michael Douglas you will know what I mean.
Wifes sister (Japanese couple) divorced a few years ago- he came from a wealthy family in Nagoya. She simply wanted a clean break and took high school age kids with her. I think there was a cash settlement involved as well- maybe 5 million yen or more.
Alot depends of individual circumstances e.g. whether there are kids involved- much easier when there are no kids to think about, as in japan its usually the mother who gets them if they split up (unless you can convince the judge otherwise, as my professor friend did) and there is no real such thing as ‘access’ like in the West.
