Rising ratio of people in east Japan pref. have no interest in marriage

UTSUNOMIYA — The percentage of those who have no desire to get married has risen across all age groups surveyed in Tochigi Prefecture compared to 2019.

The poll of prefectural residents’ attitudes to marriage was conducted online in June and July, targeting never-married people aged between 18 and 59, and 3,177 people responded.

They were asked about their willingness to get married, with four options: “want to get married right away,” “want to get married within two to three years,” “want to get married someday” and “have no intention of getting married.”

The percentage of those who said they “have no intention of getting married” accounted for 21.6% among respondents aged between 18 and 29, compared to the 10.9% in the previous survey conducted five years ago. Among respondents in their 30s, 34.1% answered the same (up from 23.3% in 2019), while 52.8% of those in their 40s (up from 42.6%) and 68.4% of those in their 50s (up from 64.1%) chose the same option.

The most common reason given for not wanting to get married among women in all age brackets, with up to two choices allowed, was “I don’t find it attractive or necessary.” This was one of the most common answers among men, too, and the top reason given by those in their 30s and 40s. “I can’t be in a good relationship with someone of the opposite sex. Romance is troublesome,” was also a common reason among young people aged between 18 and 29, while those in their 50s most commonly chose, “It’s difficult because of my age and other reasons.”

The percentage of people who have never married by age 50 (lifetime unmarried rate) was 27.0% for men and 13.9% for women in Tochigi Prefecture, according to the 2020 national census, and both are on the rise. The lifetime unmarried rate for men in Tochigi was the ninth highest among Japan’s 47 prefectures, while the rate for women was 37th.

(Japanese original by Hiroko Arita, Utsunomiya Bureau)