The status of the average Japanese woman has changed markedly during the years since the end of World War II. Before the war, the Japanese woman was firmly entrenched in a patriarchal system, taught to obey first her father, then her husband, and later her sons. The few women who worked outside the home in the prewar period worked almost exclusively as teachers or nurses, or in other professions considered appropriate for women. (Flakus 2000) .
Women are now seizing the opportunities for an education, bettering their careers, traveling, and feeling the need to be independent. Foremost among these are employment opportunities, which most certainly conflict with child rearing. Education is important, because it increases employment opportunities. More women are attending two and four year colleges to increase their chances of obtaining a wage competitive job. Women are now waiting to a later age to settle down and get married. They want to be settled in their career or at least complete their education before even thinking about getting married. Women by and large are expected to quit their jobs at marriage or when they have children and devote themselves to cooking, cleaning and raising a family. For Japan's growing ranks of well-educated career women, the life of a housewife seems unbearably monotonous. In a country where only one percent is born to single mothers, having a child outside marriage is not considered a serious option. Arai, a twenty-six year old Japanese woman who works for Max Wald computer company in Tokyo, says she has the same attitude about marriage of most of her single friends: she can take it or leave it. Arai says, "If I'm just going out with a man, our relationship can be equal, but once we get married, that balance would fall apart and he will tell me to stay home."" Arai continues, "If I decide that I want to go somewhere, I can just go. If I want to go out on the town, I can go out.