Looking at the tiny apartments in the closet world of Tokyo brought up a term that caught my eye – parasite single (パラサイトシングル).  The transcription from English to Japanese katakana does not always carry the same meaning in Japanese, but this seems like a pretty harsh label for people still living at home.

A parasite single is someone, usually in their twenties to early thirties, who lives at home with his or her parents to avoid the cost of rent and enjoy a more carefree life.  Although the phenomenon is becoming popular in more places than Japan, the term used in Japan comes from a book published in 1999 by Masahiro Yamada titled The Age of Parasite Singles.  This concept certainly didn’t come out of thin air considering that a year earlier a study was published showing that in Japan 60% of single men and 80% of single women between 20 and 34 lived with their parents.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mshades/ / CC BY 2.0

There are many possible explanations for why this has been happening, but considering the cost of renting an apartment and the luxuries that can be had for free at home, it is easy to understand.  In addition, some parents have said they enjoy having the company of their children back at home – it makes it easier to spend more time with family and allows them to invest in their future with the hope that the children will reciprocate the favor later in life.

This hope of reciprocated care seems to be more realistic in Japan when compared to other places such as the United States because it is more common for elderly family members to live with their children versus being moved into an elderly home.  Having a big family in a small Tokyo apartment probably wouldn’t be the most comfortable experience, but something more traditional like the minka mountain cabins could be much less crowded.  These older homes have partitions called fusuma (襖) that make it possible to divide the spaces as needed.

With an average birth rate of about 1.22 children born to each woman in 2008 (down from 1.8) big families haven’t necessarily been the norm, but this trend is making it more common to have more than one generation under one roof.  It is funny that parasite singles have taken on blame for things ranging from this lower birth rate to increased levels of crime, because more time with family has been shown to increase happiness pretty consistently.  I’m just hoping this term doesn’t catch on in other parts of the world because if I end up back at home I don’t want my parents to have any reason to call me a parasite.

Last Modified : March 6th, 2010 Filed under : Culture Navigate : Previous post / Next post