Over a Third of Young Japanese Not Intending to Get Married

Soon, Someday, or Staying Single

A survey of around 100,000 people aged 15 to 39 conducted by Japan’s Children and Families Agency revealed that 35.1% of the 43,529 unmarried respondents have “no intention to get married.” Even among those who do have a desire to marry, 37.5% indicated that they had no set timeframe, only that it would be “someday,” a much higher rate than those who stated they had plans to do so within a certain period.

The survey, conducted online between May and August this year, received about 68,000 valid responses, 60% of which were from women.

When respondents were asked what obstacles they felt stood in the way of marriage, with multiple responses possible, the top three were “financial concerns,” “loss of own time,” and “no partner.”

Women in their teens to early twenties tended to see the unequal division of housework and childcare as the main issue when it came to marriage, while the biggest hurdle for those in their late thirties was not having anyone they wanted to marry.

Asked what they felt were higher priorities than marriage, top responses included their own free time and interests, followed by physical and mental well-being, and stable income and job.

Data Sources

• Data from survey of young people (Japanese) from the Children and Families Agency

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)