Family Violence in Japan (PDF)

Fumie Kumagai, Ph.D., is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at Kyorin University, Tokyo, Japan. She obtained a doctorate from the University of New Hampshire at Durham under the direction of Professor Murray A. Straus, a founder of sociological studies of family violence. Subsequently, she served as a project assistant for Prof. Straus on the U.S. National Family Violence Survey, and is well versed to family violence studies through a life course perspective. She has extensive experience in the West as a student, college professor and researcher. Her overseas experience affords her a unique cross-cultural perspective in the field of families and demography, social issues, and intercultural communication. In discussing Japanese society, culture, and families, she acts as a "voice in the wilderness" insisting it is vial to pay close attention to regional variations rather than taking Japan as a whole. She has authored 22 books, of them five in English, and numerous articles both in Japanese and in English.

Masako Ishii-Kuntz, Ph.D., is Professor of Graduate School of Humanities and Sciences at Ochanomizu University, Tokyo, Japan. Prior to her present appointment, she was a faculty member in Sociology Department at the University of California, Riverside for 20 years during which she created and taught several undergraduate and graduate courses on family violence. She authored many books and articles on the division of household labor in Japan and the U.S. Her articles appeared in such journals as Journal of Marriage and Family, Family Relations, and Journal of Family Issues. Her most recent research funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science examines the use of internet technologies and social media in fathering and mothering practices in Japan, Korea, U.S. and Sweden. In recognition of her contribution to the international research and teaching of family sociology, she received the 2012 Jan Trost Award of the National Council on Family Relations.