A Japanese company is renting out separate rooms to married couples to help them 'avoid divorce'

• Japanese rental company Kasoku is offering married couples separate, short-term rental units as a way of letting them spend time apart if their marriage is going through a rough patch.
• A spokesman for Kasoku told the Japan Times that the purpose of the initiative is "to avoid divorce" and give couples a chance to "think about" their marriage.
• The phrase "corona divorce" has surfaced on social media in recent weeks, a development that informed the company's decision.
• In some cities within neighboring China, divorce rates are thought to have reached record highs during early March.
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Japanese rental company Kasoku is offering married couples separate, short-term rental units as a way of letting them spend time apart if their marriage is going through a rough patch.

A spokesman for Kasoku told the Japan Times that the purpose of the initiative is "to avoid divorce."

"We hope couples first distance themselves and think about (their marriage). For our part, we will provide rooms that they can live in and an environment for teleworking," he added.

The concept of a "corona divorce" has gained traction on social media in recent weeks, a development said to have informed the company's decision.

In at least two cities within neighboring China – Xian, in central China, and Dazhou, in Sichuan province – divorce rates are thought to have reached record highs during early March, according to a Bloomberg report last month.

Of course, this suggests a possible link between marital unhappiness and coronavirus lockdowns.

But there's also a less disturbing possible explanation for the apparent spike in divorces — the offices responsible for handling divorce requests were inundated with delayed divorce requests once they re-opened, having originally closed during lockdown.

Although divorce rates during lockdown aren't yet clear in much of the world, a prominent British divorce lawyer told the UK's House of Lords in March that a spike in divorce rates caused by couples living in lockdown together was "very likely."