You never know what wacky thing Japan will think of next. As Japanese get older, the divorce rate is on the rise, and more and more Japanese couples are calling it quits for a variety of reasons. Currently around 27% of Japanese marriages end in divorce, about the same as Germany and the UK but still lower than the U.S. rate of 40% or so. The latest fad being talked about in the Japanese news media is what’s known as a “divorce ceremony.” Sort of like a wedding but a whole lot less happy, these divorce ceremonies let the married couple officially un-do their vows, stating their reasons for wanting to make the break so that things are clear and out in the open. Each party then places their wedding ring on a stone table and smashes it with a hammer. The point is actually to be as positive about the process as possible, and hopefully change rikon (Japanese for “divorce”) into re-kon (remarriage to someone new), and hopefully better days for all.
Japanese couples holding ‘divorce ceremonies’?
