Explaining Trends in Coresidence of Newly Married Couples With Parents in Japan

This paper attempts to explain both the long-term downward trend in coresidence of newly married Japanese couples with parents and the surprisingly large and sustained upturn in coresidence precipitated by the 1998 economic crisis. A multivariate analysis shows that the main causes of the long-term decline in coresidence at time of marriage are the declining percentage of arranged marriages, rising mean age at marriage for wives, rising levels of education among both husbands and wives, and the declining percentage of couples who grow up in rural areas. The contributions of these variables are partially offset by changes in the mix of couple types, especially the increase in the percentage of couples in which the husband is an eldest son. The analysis of the upturn in coresidence precipitated by the 1998 economic crisis reveals a complex interplay between changes in age at first marriage, family structure and coresidence.