Surge in 'Family Severance' Consultations Among Japanese in Their 20s and 30s

Consultations rise from 55 to 320 in four years
Growing resentment over parents' irresponsible shifting of caregiving burdens

Consultations about "family severance"—either completely cutting ties with parents or relatives or entrusting their care to outside providers—have surged among people in their 20s and 30s in Japan.

An elderly person sits on a bench in a park in Tokyo, Japan. Yonhap News Agency

According to Yomiuri TV on Nov. 3, the number of related consultations received by LMN, an incorporated association that provides services including support for older adults, rose sixfold, from 55 in January-March 2022 to 320 in the same period this year.

Of all consultations, 80% concerned so-called "kazoku-jimai (family severance)," or cutting ties with one's family. In the past, most consultations came from older people in their 60s and 70s dealing with problems such as continued excessive interference by their parents or caregiving. But recently, people in their 20s and 30s accounted for 40% of the total.

This trend stems from younger generations pushing back against parents who have subjected them to verbal abuse, abuse, neglect, and other mistreatment. The result is a growing conviction that they will no longer tolerate the irresponsible attitude of parents who, despite having deeply hurt their children in the past, try to shift the burden of caregiving onto them without apologizing or showing remorse.

There has also been an increase in cases where people use paid services, which cost an initial registration fee of 550,000 yen (approximately 4.7 million won) and 11,000 yen per session (for four hours), to outsource their parents' caregiving, hospital admission, and funeral arrangements, while cutting off all contact with them. The services are reportedly used an average of 1 to 1.5 times a month, and as often as 10 times a month.

Hideki Endo, head of LMN, explained why people use these services despite the considerable cost: "They are desperate to escape the constant calls and worries. Fear that they don't know what their parents might do if left unattended also plays a part, as does the complex feeling that, even though the relationship has broken down, they cannot completely abandon their parents."

Yomiuri TV added that amid an aging population and changing views of family, choosing to keep a certain distance or end a relationship rather than endure unconditional sacrifice simply because of blood ties is becoming a new social phenomenon.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.