TOKYO (Realist English). In Japan, one in four singles in their 30s who have never been married in Japan said they have no desire to tie the knot, citing such reasons as concerns over a loss of freedom and associated housework and financial burdens, reports Japan Today with reference to a government survey showed Tuesday.
The number of marriages in 2021 dropped to around 514,000 This is the lowest in the postwar period. The findings of the survey on marriage and income were cited in the government’s white paper on gender equality, which also noted that.
The survey conducted last December to January, with responses from 20,000 people in their 20s to 60s, showed that 54.6 percent of men and 62.6 percent of women in their 30s were married, according to the white paper approved by the cabinet.
Among singles who have never been married, 46.4 percent of both men and women in their 30s said they hoped to tie the knot, while 26.5 percent of men and 25.4 percent of women wanted to remain single.
The most common reason cited by men and women in both age groups for not getting married was wanting to remain free.
By gender, more women than men said they do not want to shoulder the burden of housework, childcare and nursing care marriage often entails while more men than women cited a lack of financial ability and job insecurity as reasons for shunning marriage.
More women than men, meanwhile, cited not wanting to change their surnames on becoming married and the procedures involved in doing so. Japan’s Civil Code and family register law require the use of a single surname by family members, and it is customary, although not legally required, for a wife to take her husband’s surname.
The number of babies born in the country dropped to 811,604 in 2021, hitting a record low for the sixth consecutive year and sliding at a faster pace than the government estimated in 2017.
