"Posthumous divorce," a Japanese practice of legally severing ties with a deceased spouse's family, is rising again in Japan. Beyond its symbolic meaning as resistance to patriarchy, analysts say the increase is driven by a practical desire to avoid caring for a spouse's parents.
Posthumous Divorces Hit Bottom in 2021, Rise Three Years in a Row
According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun on Thursday, the annual number of "notifications of termination of in-law relationships" — commonly known as posthumous divorces in Japan — began rising in 2015 and peaked at 4,895 cases in 2017.
The figure declined through 2021, then rebounded for three consecutive years, reaching 4,027 cases in 2024, the most recent year tallied.
In Japan, a posthumous divorce is processed by submitting a notification of termination of in-law relationships to the local government where one's family registry or resident registration is located. There is no obligation to notify or obtain consent from the deceased spouse's relatives, and the procedure is completed simply by filing the document. However, even after the filing, the legal kinship between children and grandparents remains intact.
'Dankai Generation' Entering Late-Stage Old Age Acts as Catalyst
The Nihon Keizai Shimbun divided the changes in the posthumous divorce trend into two periods.
According to the newspaper, the increase in the 2010s was mainly driven by daughters-in-law seeking to break free from or mentally sever ties with patriarchal in-laws. By contrast, the recent increase reflects mainly a practical demand to avoid caring for a spouse's parents, the analysis says.
Indeed, Japan's population statistics show that the number of late-stage elderly aged 75 or older reached 20.69 million in 2024, soaring about 1.7-fold over two decades. As the "Dankai generation" — the baby boomers born after World War II — passes the age of 75, the elderly population has grown rapidly, and along with it, more people are taking on the duty of caring for in-laws after their spouse's death.
Hisako Nakazawa, a lawyer who has primarily handled posthumous divorce consultations, told the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, "In the 2010s, when posthumous divorce drew attention, those filing were mostly people encountering the system for the first time. But the recent upward trend is because filings have increased among those actually facing the duty of caring for in-laws."
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