Japanese women suffer domestic violence by their significant male other but by cultural tradition lack the necessary support which relegates in myth. Members of the Japanese community both at home and abroad are no exception. Domestic violence in Japan is in fact committed for purposes of control by one partner of the other. Subsequently domestic violence is a problem which appears non-existent in the Japanese community at the expense of its victims. Real life contradictions, pertaining to domestic violence events among the Japanese are sustained not only by tradition but limited discourse as well. Therefore, accounts of domestic violence among the Japanese necessitate investigation of the pathology where it occurs regardless of culture, shame or demographic category.

Key words: domestic violence, victimization, Japan