The Pittsburgh Press (February 5, 1946)
Millett: Divorce here isn’t cheap
Japanese women aren’t mercenary
By Ruth Millett
So the G.I.’s in Japan can get for $67 a Japanese wife who will be easy to shed when the G.I. sails for home.
And we are shocked by the story. Why? Because the price is so cheap?
That is really the only reasons we have for looking down on the Japanese women for making these “temporary marriages.”
Because the same kind of marriages exist in our own country. The difference is, to get a contemporary wife in America, a man usually has to have a lot of money.
Then he can pick out a beautiful girl and with the promise of furs and diamonds and all the luxuries that go with them, and her knowledge that when he is tired of her she can get alimony or a cash settlement.
And that it will be temporary everybody knows, including the bride, even though it is strictly legal according to our laws.
Sure, we have a system for temporary marriages made simple by divorce meccas like Reno right here in America. So we had better remember that, before we look down our noses on the women of Japan who are willing to marry a G.I. for a price and for a while.
The main difference between the Japanese girls who are willing to become “temporary wives” and the American girls who are willing to become the third or fourth or fifth wife of some playboy is that the Japanese girls make no pretense that the marriage is going to be anything but temporary.
And while the American girl who is willing to make a “temporary marriage” expects to get a handsome settlement out of the alliance, the Japanese girl asks only a modest sum.
If we are going to be shocked by “temporary marriages” in Japan, let’s not forget society accepts a similar setup right here in our own enlightened country.