Belief that one should love and respect one's parents and as they grow older, one should take the best possible care of them.
             Japanese children grow up believing that it is a tremendous honor to spend time with their grandparents and that "age is wisdom."
             People in Japan generally believe that it is shameful to abandon one's parents in a nursing home. (added info, don't know if you want to use it but anyway... officials tell stories of people in rural areas who continue to hang out their parent's laundry long after they have gone to a nursing home just so that their neighbors won't think they have abandoned their parents)
             Traditional Multigenerational Family Structure or "Ie"
             Aging parents typically choose to live with an elder son and his wife (this is because traditionally only the eldest son inherited). The eldest male (grandfather) is the head of the household, but at the age of 60 he becomes "go inkyo" or "retired master". The eldest female (grandmother) is the "obason" and has authority over the daughter-in-law. The eldest son spends his time working and his wife is responsible for taking care of their husbands needs, HIS parents, and their children...as well as all the housework.
             The family structure is changing in Japan. More women are working full-time and have their own careers to worry about and taking care of aging parents on top of their own families has become an enormous burden. Many young women are now choosing not to marry because they don't want to be put in this difficult position. They realize that because times are changing, they will not be able to count on their children to take care of them when they get older. They are focusing on their careers and putting money into their pension plans and planning to be independent when they retire. Other women are putting off having children because even though
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