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Out of the shadows: Japanese women building a life beyond motherhood

Miyako Kudo addresses an Osaka fertility clinic during a speaking engagement on understanding and supporting women without children.

Miyako Kudo addresses an Osaka fertility clinic during a speaking engagement on understanding and supporting women without children. | COURTESY OF MIYAKO KUDO

By Mai Yoshikawa
Staff writer

Jul 25, 2026

Miyako Kudo is married, in her 50s, and childless.

Over a decade ago, looking to connect with other women who didn’t have children, she hosted a casual tea gathering.

What she expected to be an informal meetup brought many in the room to tears as a dozen attendees opened up about years of unspoken pain — of having nowhere to turn, feeling they had disappointed their parents, and navigating life in the dark.

Amid the heat and humidity in Japan, a good night’s sleep is growing increasingly elusive without the heavy use of air conditioning.

Summer has arrived in Japan and so have hot sleepless nights

By Tomoko Otake

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan’s landscape that they often go unnoticed.

Why Japan’s utility poles won’t be disappearing anytime soon

By Alex K.T. Martin

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