The Transition to Adulthood Among Japanese Youth: Longitudinal Qualitative Research in Tokyo and Rural Area in Japan

In recent decades, many researchers have found that young people’s transition to adulthood is greatly prolonged in terms of finishing education, entering job market, leaving parental home, getting married and having children. Accordingly, they suggest that contemporary young people’s transition trajectories have become radically different from those of their previous generations. Recently, a process of individualization and de-standardization became apparent among youth. However, individual transition to adulthood is socially constructed. Individuals under different social and cultural contexts may have various transition experiences. A recent review of the transition to adulthood literature from the life course perspective indicates that a systematic analysis of gender, race, and social class differences is needed. In Japan, with the growth of higher education opportunities and the increase of women’s participation in job market, the experiences of transition to adulthood of women have changed a lot. This study explores the transitional experiences of highly educated Japanese single women. This study based on a longitudinal qualitative research of 31 women (aged 23 to 33) over time (at different time) and space (Tokyo and rural area). In this paper, I will discuss: 1) how Japanese single women perceive the meaning of work and marriage, 2) how the parent-child relationship and living area affect on their transitional experiences.