Wives and Mothers-in-law:

Elder abuse exists in Japan. Not only is recognition of the problem inadequate, but there are few systematic efforts to deal with it. This paper describes a small-scale survey that explored the conflictual relationship between wives and mothers-in-law. Since the end of World War II, the positions of the wife and that of the mother-in-law have been reversed, resulting in a weaker position for the latter. This change from the traditional relationship may be a source of elder abuse.