 Despite this, the divorce rate among older Japanese couples has soared in recent decades, as more of the baby boomer population have retired, increasing by 26.5% in 10 years according to the health ministry.The number of divorces among couples married for 20 years or more hit 42,000 in 2004, double those recorded in 1985.Divorces among those married for more than 30 years quadrupled during the same period.