[Nyororin]

If the original poster`s desire to marry his girlfriend is destroyed by the simple suggestion to slow down and think deeply about the decision - he should be reconsidering.
All the things MMM asked in the first post were completely valid. I don`t read them as cutting the poster down or crushing dreams, but more like inserting a dose of reality into things. And, as I point out above, if a dose of reality is enough to kill the relationship... It NEEDED it as quickly as possible.

If MMM had said "You shouldn`t marry her because she`s Japanese!" or "You should go for someone better!" etc - then it would have been out of line. But to simply suggest the poster thinks about the scale and significance of this decision? That should be something welcomed if the original poster is serious about things. Virtually no one wants to hear negativity, but I think that lives are a whole lot better off if you know what you`re getting into and the worst case scenarios. You can actually plan and be prepared so that some of the issues can be avoided... At the very least, it can give you something to brag about if you never hit those expected snags.

But hey, alanX - if you want to jump into something blindly, go for it! Just don`t assume that ignorance is the preferred path for everyone else out there.

Back to the original question though, I'm curious about gender roles in a Japanese marriage. Is the husband still supposed to be the primary bread-winner, or do both husband and wife usually work?

Short of major necessity, it`s still the norm for the husband to be the provider. It is still considered totally normal for the wife to quit her job indefinitely once married, and if not then as soon as they have a child. The housewife/homemaker/whatever you want to call it is pretty much the most desired situation for the majority of women.
Not that there aren`t working mothers, etc, but most of it is part time "spending money" level. Supporting a household is very rare.

Do couples often get married but remain dependent on their parents?

No, not really. While it isn`t that uncommon for married couples to live with one side`s family (90% of the time the husband`s) after marriage, it`s usually either a temporary thing until they can find somewhere good to live... Or the son is going to take over the family home. True dependency is pretty rare.

What kind of expectations are there of a foreign husband/wife?

The same expectations as there are toward a domestic husband/wife.