As the birthrate continues to fall, surveys that investigate marriage and childbirth seem to be on the rise.

This latest survey by the research and development wing of Japanese insurance company Meiji Yasuda Life reveals a variety of statistics about attitudes toward settling down as part of a couple in Japan.

The article below that discusses the survey results highlights the finding that more men than women appear to be reluctant or unable to enter relationships, with 30% of men in their 30s, and the same proportion in their 20s, admitting that they have no experience of dating a woman.

From My Navi News:

Marriage and Childbirth Survey: 30% Of Unmarried Men In Their 30s Have No Dating Experience, Same As Percentage Of Men In Their 20s.

“Please tell us the number of members of the opposite sex you have dated up to now.”

Recently, the Meiji-Yasuda Life and Welfare Research Institute published the results of a survey carried out on the theme of marriage and childbirth which targeted 3,616 men and women throughout Japan between the ages of 20 and 49. The survey was an online survey (Macromill record monitor) held between February 6 and February 9.

30% Of Men In Their 30s Have No Experience of Dating A Woman

To the question “Please tell us the number of members of the opposite sex you have dated up to now”, which enquired about experience in dating the opposite sex, results shows that for both men in the 20s and 30s, 30% had no experience of dating the opposite sex. As you move from men in their 20s to those in their 30s, the average number of men who had dated someone rises, but a trend was observed in which the percentage of men who hadn’t experienced love and who were unmarried didn’t change.

Still, in the case of women, just under 30% of those in their 20s had no experience of dating someone, but for women in their 30s this fell by half. The number of people who had dated someone was relatively higher for women, and the percentage of people who responded that they had dated “more than 3 people” was 44.2% for women in their 20s, whereas it was 34.9% for men in their 20s.

30% Of Unmarried Women Require That Their Marriage Partner Has A Yearly Income Of At Least “5,000,000 Yen” [approx. $54,000]

The Lowest Yearly Wage Unmarried Women Require Their Marriage Partner To Have.

When unmarried women were asked what the lowest yearly income they required a marriage partner to earn was, when you include those people who said that “I wouldn’t ask about income”, the percentage of respondents who replied that yearly income could be “less than 5,000,000 yen” was close to 70%. The average yearly income of a male salaryman is 2,620,000 yen for men in their early twenties, 3,760,000 in their late twenties, 4,340,000 in their early thirties, and 4,980,000 yne in their late thirties (National Tax Agency ‘Heisei 23 (2004) Statistical Survey on Salaries of Private Citizens), and it was interpreted in the survey that it could be said that women’s idea of the lowest line for yearly income was a fairly realistic level.

One In Ten Couples Were Pregnant When They Decided To Marry

“Please tell us how you came to be married (the reason why you made the decision to get married). Please select all answers that apply.”

When those already married were asked the main reason why they decided to get married, the most common response was “I thought I wanted to be together with the person I loved”, which made up half of responses. Next, around 10% of people answered “Because we were having a baby” and a further 10% answered “Because of my own or my partner’s age”. It was inferred from this that as a reason for deciding on marriage, pregnancy and age were big factors.

Also, it was discovered that just under 10% of men decided to get married because of the words and attitude of the woman which suggested she “wouldn’t wait any longer”. There were few instances where income was the deciding factor for a marriage to go ahead.

The Opportunity To Meet My Other Half: “Same Workplace” “Introduced By Friends” “Schoolmates”

The top reason as to how people in their 20s and 30s who were married had met their partner was that they had the “same workplace”. Next came “we were introduced by friends” and “we were schoolmates (same class or school clubs, etc.)”.

When looking separately at the ages that people got married, results showed that the number of people in their 20s who said that they’d met their partner at school was higher than that of those in their 30s, and that for people in their 30s, those who answered “”o-miai [traditional matchmaking]”, “wedding party”, “members-only marriage introductions agency” was higher than those in their 20s.

When you compare what singletons in their 20s and 30s anticipate as being how they will meet their partner, and how those who are already married actually met their partner, then a trend could be seen where meeting a partner through things like “an alumni association”, “sports and hobby clubs”, “wedding parties”, “introduction by senior colleague”, “introduction by parents or relatives”, “o-miai [traditional matchmaking]” and so on, weren’t quite so relevant to marriage as singletons in their 20s and 30s expected, and that meeting a partner with the “same workplace”, or from “school days (class, clubs etc.)”, were related to marriage just as the singletons had imagined.

Detailed results of the survey can be seen on the Meiji Yasuda Life and Welfare Research Institute webpage.

Comments from 2ch.net:

ヨーロッパオオヤマネコ(神奈川県)：

Come on, I’ve never seen a guy like that…

アフリカゴールデンキャット(兵庫県)：

Doesn’t matter if she’s fugly, just go out with a girl!

白黒(神奈川県)：

There’s no point in being alive if you’re a virgin your entire life.

デボンレックス(福岡県)：

It’s too much of a bother to approach a girl from their perspective. And no one’s ever going to come and approach them. Therefore, they never go out with anyone. Seems simple enough.

スナネコ(SB-iPhone)：

The number of passive guys who are like women used to be in the old days have increased.

メインクーン(茸)：

I’m no good at dating, so I’m thinking of staying single for the rest of my life. When I want to ejaculate, I can just pay my money and get someone to wank me off, and I have no desire to leave these junior-high graduate with communication issues genes behind, so I don’t need any offspring.

ターキッシュバン(東日本)：

Why don’t they date? They should!

クロアシネコ(埼玉県)：

How about turning gay?

ラ・パーマ(京都府)：

Even so, if you compromise with an ugly girl you regret it. No matter how dry your throat is, don’t be drinking sewer water.

ジャパニーズボブテイル(滋賀県)：

But you know, even if I’m told “Hey, I’ll introduce you to a girl” I end up turning them down. I mean, I want to have sex, but when I think that I’ll be sacrificing my privacy, I just think to hell with it, I’m happy to stay a virgin.

トラ(東京都)：

Look, that’s just the way they’re made, so leave it out. This is a diverse period for humanity.

縞三毛(大阪府)：

I mean, if you want your parents to see their grandchildren, then I think you should find love. But people who don’t really care about that don’t have to bother.

ロシアンブルー(やわらか銀行)：

It’s because they’re loners who don’t want to go to the trouble of creating relationships with other people.

コラット(栃木県)：

They need an o-miai.

マンクス(神奈川県)：