"Do We Really Have to Get Married?"... One in Three Unmarried Japanese Youths Opts Out, Main Concern Is Economic Anxiety

35% of Unmarried Japanese Youth "No Intention to Get Married"
Main Concern About Marriage: Economic Anxiety
Leisure and Hobbies Prioritized Over Marriage... Trend Toward Valuing "My Life"

More than one in three unmarried young people in Japan say they have no intention of getting married. The main reason cited for hesitating to marry is economic anxiety about whether they will be able to maintain a stable life after marriage.

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35% of Unmarried Japanese Youth Do Not Intend to Get Married... Concerns About Stable Income

According to the Asahi Shimbun on August 21, a survey conducted by Japan's Children and Families Agency involving about 100,000 people aged 15 to 39 found that 35% of the approximately 44,000 unmarried respondents said they do not intend to get married. Only 38% answered, "I want to get married someday," while 10% said, "I want to get married within the next two to three years."

This survey was conducted by the Japanese government to understand young people's perceptions of marriage and childbirth. The Children and Families Agency carried out an online survey from May 20 through August 5, and the interim results collected through July have now been released. The number of valid responses was about 68,000.

The biggest factor making people hesitant to marry was economic burden. 40% of respondents pointed to "anxiety about having enough income to maintain a stable married life" as a barrier to marriage.

In addition, 34% responded that they were worried about having less free time or time for hobbies, 33% said they had not found someone they want to marry, and 30% cited housing issues, such as concern over the cost of housing.

In particular, the percentage of women who said they have not found someone they want to marry increased with age: 33% for women aged 20-24, rising to 41% for women aged 35-39.

When asked what they consider more important than marriage, "leisure and hobbies" ranked first at 51%, followed by "physical health and peace of mind" (38%) and "securing and maintaining a stable income and job" (37%).

Japan's low birth rate has already reached a critical level. Last year, the number of births stood at 671,000, marking a record low for the tenth consecutive year. The Japanese government plans to reflect the findings of this survey in future measures for addressing the low birth rate, given that marriage rates and timing among the younger generation impact the number of births. The final report is scheduled to be released by the end of the 2026 fiscal year.

Marriage Intentions Rise Among South Korean Youth, But Economic Burdens Remain

Concerns about marriage and childbirth persist in South Korea as well.

According to the "3rd National Population Behavior Survey" released by the Korea Population and Health Welfare Association in February, the share of unmarried men and women expressing an "intention to marry" was 60.8% among men and 47.6% among women. This represented increases of 2.3 percentage points for men and 3.0 percentage points for women compared to the previous year, marking a two-year rebound.

Although willingness to marry has risen, burdens related to marriage remain. The greatest reasons cited for lacking or hesitating about marriage were "financial burdens" for men (24.5%) and "no partner meeting expectations" for women (18.3%). In addition, 55.0% of respondents viewed marriage as "more of a burden than a benefit."

Regarding hesitations about childbirth, most respondents pointed to "economic burdens" as the reason, while the top factor among unmarried women was concern that "their children might not be happy."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.