Women in Japanese Society

[Sara Newman]

I was really interested in what Professor Katada said about the roles of and expectations for women in Japanese society. She mentioned that because men are expected to work for 16 hours a day (and Saturdays too), most women--even college educated women--leave the work force after having kids. It makes sense that with one parent working so many hours, it would be important for the other parents to be more readily availible to care for and support the children. But, this makes me wonder what's expected of/for women from the time that they finish high school until they get married (around age 30ish according to Professor Katada). Are many women still pursuing college degrees and professional careers in the decade between high school graduation and marriage? Or, given the fact that women aren't expect to have long-term careers, are women pursuing mostly jobs that don't require college degrees?