Much ado has been made of late in the United States about the increasing loan burden which graduating college seniors are facing. A debt-load of tens of thousands of dollars has become the norm to which most college students can look forward, it seems. Well, in keeping with the concept of “student loans,” a bank in Japan has recently announced that it will begin providing special, low-interest loans to cover the costs incurred by divorce settlements.

Pamela Paul has defined the phenomena of the “starter marriage” as those first, short, and probably poorly thought-out early attempts at matrimony which may actually help people to learn how to build and grow a successful, long lasting relationship…eventually. However, putting these valuable lessens to use can be hampered if you’re currently facing several hundred thousand yen in legal fees…and an average of about 4 million yen (about $35,000) in compensation to your former spouse.

Enter the Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank which, on October 1^st, began offering unsecured, low-interest “divorce loans” to customers between 20 and 65 years. The maximum period allowed to pay back the loan? Seven years.

Further Reading:

Student loans sow seeds of economic ills, USA Today, Sept. 30, 2007

Bank to set up unsecured divorce-settlement loans, Mainichi Daily News, September 28, 2007

The Starter Marriage and the Future of Matrimony, Pamela Paul, Villard Books 2002