The family in Japan is called “kazoku” in Japanese. It is basically composed of a couple as is the family in other societies. The Japanese family is based on the line of descent. Ancestors and offspring are linked together by an idea of family genealogy, or keifu, which does not mean relationships based on mere blood inheritance and succession, but rather a bond of relationship inherent in the maintenance and continuance of the family as an institution. In any given period of history, all family members have been expected to contribute to the perpetuation of the family, which is held to be the highest duty of the member (Ariga, 1954).Traditionally, raising the children, supervising education, doing the housework and home accounting are the mothers’ jobs. The Fathers’ job is to provide a monthly income for the family. Modern young working parents are sharing their roles, such as housework, taking care of children and supervising education. However, families with junior high school and older children tend to carry on the traditional roles. Recently, schools have instituted an “Open School Day for Fathers” to encourage fathers to participate in school activities. However, regardless of the schools’ efforts, the participation rate of fathers is still small. The reasons for that are: it is not easy for fathers to take time off from work and some fathers are bashful to participate in school activities. Therefore, a mother who has so many roles at home can only take a part time job. It is not easy for a working mother to maintain a good work-life balance. If grandparents are living together or near by, a mother can work with support from grandparents, such as taking care of the children. The day care center in Japan is not so flexible yet. When a child gets sick, usually her/his mother is called to pick up the sick child. If a mother has to work using a day-care center without depending on grandparents’ support, the mother and father need to discuss about sharing roles and jobs in daily life; otherwise, the load on the mother could be very heavy.

The Japanese people (日本人, Nihonjin, Nipponjin^?) are a nationality originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries are referred to as nikkeijin (日系人^?). The term ethnic Japanese may also be used in some contexts to refer to a locus of ethnic groups including the Yamato, Ainu and Ryukyuan people.

The Japanese language is a Japonic language that is sometimes treated as a language isolate; it is also related to the Ryukyuan languages, and both are suggested to be part of the proposed Altaic language family. The Japanese language has a tripartite writing system using Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. Domestic Japanese people use primarily Japanese for daily interaction. The adult literacy rate in Japan exceeds 99%.

Japanese religion has traditionally been syncretic in nature, combining elements of Buddhism and Shinto. Shinto, a polytheistic religion with no book of religious canon, is Japan's native religion. Shinto was one of the traditional grounds for the right to the throne of the Japanese imperial family, and was codified as the state religion in 1868 (State Shinto was abolished by the American occupation in 1945). Mahayana Buddhism came to Japan in the sixth century and evolved into many different sects. Today the largest form of Buddhism among Japanese people is the Jōdo Shinshū sect founded by Shinran.^{[citation needed]}