The Economics Of Marriage Hunting

Kekkon Katsudou (結婚活動), most commonly referred to as “konkatsu” (婚活) for short, is perhaps the most dangerous hunts of them all… that hunt of course being “marriage hunting.” The Japanese construct of actively and conscientiously searching for a marriage partner goes beyond just the introduction of online dating websites or a popularization of group dating. And the one factor I keep seeing that seems to both drive and affect konkatsu is economic status, which is what we’ll be talking about here today.

A Konkatsu History

marriage

Photo by slightly everything

The emergence of online dating sites in Japan started in 2003 with sites such as 「ブライダルネット」(also known as IBJ) which translates to “Bridal Net”, and “Excite”, the formal name for which is 「エキサイト恋愛結婚」(Excite Marriage for Love). Following that in 2005, Yahoo also launched their own similar site. A couple years later in 2007, the term “konkatsu” was coined and used for the first time in an article of Aera magazine. One year following that, in 2008, a book entitled 「婚活時代」(The Generation of Marriage Hunting) was published, authored by Momoko Shirakawa and sociologist Masahiro Yamada. Yamada is also known for coining the term “parasite singles” which refers to a single person beyond their late 20s who still lives with their parents. And often, it is used with a negative connotation toward young, unmarried women. The book「婚活時代」is available on Amazon here. It is what really popularized the term “konkatsu”, getting the word nominated for the annual buzzwords-of-the-year contest of 2008.

The konkatsu trend also had economic support. Along with the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Inc, the economy plummeted which fueled the concern and potential realities of becoming economically unstable. And thus began the race to find financial stability through marriage. And as with most things in Japan, once it got popular, it boomed.

The Golden Age Of Konkatsu

Japan capitalized on this recession-induced trend that put konkatsu into its golden age. There was a rise in konkatsu businesses such as an influx in dating websites and specialized cafes, and the emergence of television shows and drama series. The public popularization of marriage hunting in Japan allowed people to become more open about actively hunting for a marriage partner.

Another side concept that arose from the konkatsu boom was known as an “earthquake marriage” (震災婚 – shinsai kon). The 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami disaster is said to have brought up a desire for their partners and a desire for marriage in people.

Local governments have also been known to encourage konkatsu activities by providing a variety of financial support to konkatsu mixers, seminars, day trips, and group dates, to name a few. An example of this is the city of Itoigawa, which was highlighted in an article from Japan Pulse. Local governments wanted to support marriage-hunting activities in hopes of increasing the birth rate in Japan, which had also been on the decline. Aside from providing financial support to businesses, local governments have also been known to promote konkatsu by offering meeting places for single men and women. For example, in Miura City of Kanagawa Prefecture where agriculture is a point of focus, they organized konkatsu events that would raise awareness on the lack of future farmers. Another example is Urayasu City in Chiba Prefecture and their sponsored konkatsu event at the Disney Resort hotel.

Shift In Marriage Ideology

konkatsu

Photo by fukapon

Japan’s average marrying age has been steadily getting higher. In the 1970s the average marrying age was 25 and currently it stands at around 30. On top of this there is some pressure for women of marrying age to get married. Unmarried women above the age 25 are sometimes referred to as “leftover Christmas cake” (because you eat Christmas Cake on Christmas, the 25th) and feel as though it will be harder for them to find a husband the older that they get.

Even though the concept of “konkatsu” has boomed in Japan, 1 in 5 males and 1 in 10 females still say they will not get married, which is an increase compared to 30 years ago. According to a survey conducted by Japanese magazine Joshi Spa!, 33.5% of the 37,610 participants didn’t see any benefit to getting married. The largest age group that showed no interest in marriage were those people in their 30s. At first glance, this seems like a lot. However, according to a study conducted for an NHK special, the percentage of men and women who still hope for marriage is high: 89% of women want to get married, and 86% of men said they would like to get married. And the number of people who work hard to appeal to potential partners is also increasing. But even though this is the case, it still doesn’t seem as though Japan is seeing high marriage rates. Why is that?

Relationships Between Money and Marriage

It could be because for women, the potential for financial stability in a receding economy is top priority. A majority of women hope to marry a man who has an annual income of $60,000 USD or higher. However, only 4% of men who are 20-30 years of age meet this high salary requirement. The average salary for the 30-year-old age group is between $38,000-$42,000 USD. The want for financial stability when getting married is what is continuing to drive the decision to find a marriage partner. One woman who is in the middle of marriage hunting explained that while she isn’t looking for a life of luxury, it is necessary for her to be able to live each day-to-day comfortably. A survey showed that 37.6% of men aged 30-39 years with a salary of $60,000 USD or higher are married. 9.6% have never had a significant other. 22% of participants recorded that they have a significant other, and 29.8% recorded that they did not. Comparing this to 30-year-old men with a salary of $30,000 USD or less, the discrepancy is quite big. Only 9.3% of men with a $30,000 USD or lower salary are married, and only 18.4% have significant others. 38.8 % recorded that they are currently not seeing anybody, and 33.6% have never been in a romantic relationship.

Saving Up For The Wedding

savings

Photo by tax credits

In some countries, such as in the US, it may be customary to build up some kind of marriage fund to use toward a wedding and getting started into that new life. According to some surveys, there are a percentage of people in Japan who do save up for marriage as well, but my impression was that it is relatively low considering the surge in the marriage hunting activities that Japan saw.

According to a survey conducted by Excite, the majority of women (38.9%) answered that they do not really have wedding funds. Only 8% of women surveyed were consciously saving up to get married and 10.5% of the women surveyed were expecting their wedding funds to come from their significant other. Looking at the men’s results from the same question regarding marriage funds asked by Excite, the majority of men (34.1%) answered to having some kind of marriage fund. 23.5% of the men surveyed answered that they are actively setting aside money for getting married, which is more than double of the number of women who answered the same. Per the results above, it seems possible that men are more likely than women to assume that they will need to shoulder the responsibility of putting out money for the wedding.

BIGLOBE also conducted a survey in 2010 regarding finances for weddings that compared men and women, both married and unmarried. Over 50% of both married men and women said that they needed financial assistance from their parents for wedding funds. 71% of unmarried men and 62% of unmarried women answered that they did not think they would need parental assistance whereas roughly 30% of those surveyed said they would need that support.

In regard to saving up to get married, 10% of unmarried male participants said they were not saving up to get married, while 8% of unmarried female participants said they were not saving. Out of the married men and women who participated, 10% of males and 12% of females said they did end up saving. As for how much they were saving, the majority of married males saved between $20,000-$30,000 USD (18%) and the majority of married females saved between $10,000-$20,000 USD (20%). For the unmarried participants, the majority for both genders expressed wanting to save $20,000-$30,000 USD (17% and 20% for men and women, respectively) toward marriage. The full survey results can be found in the links at the bottom of the article.

The Economics Behind Konkatsu

rings

Photo by State Farm

There does appear to be some conscientious thought about money in relation to saving up for a wedding but most of the emphasis seems to be on how much money one will have after getting married. Economic factors, including the recession and the knowledge that there is more stability in a two-income houseold, appear to have induced marriage-seeking in Japan. However, according to some reports, the financial standards set by women are also quite high, which gives the impression that the majority of women are marrying for money. What do you think the financially driven reasons for wanting to get married along with the financial limitations placed on potential partners will do to the continuing generations of marriage in Japan?

Sources:

Neo

I recently watched a documentary about the problem with the decrease of natality in Japan. One of the reasons given was the fact that marriage was less frequent and in older ages. This relates to the article, as it also said that only a very small percentage of children are born outside marrige (compared to the 50% in the UK).
In the documentary some Japanese woman are interviewd and asked about what they think about men’s behaviour. The said they were like amebas. They were heterosexual, but weren’t interested in being with a girl. I think this also might be a reason why there is a shortage of marriages; which lead to my first point.
Lava Yuki

Maybe Japanese women don’t like the way men overwork all the time and leave all the housework and kids up to them, like the whole traditional old fashioned style family structure. But not all women can be gold-diggers tho. And I women usually don’t like men who are obsessed with all those anime AV stuff, video games etc.. I think peoples attitude contributes. There’s a high pressure to get married before 30 in a lot of countries (for kids maybe?),but people in Japan work really long hours, so the only opportunity some people have for dating is 婚活.
DAVIDPD

Pragmatic, but kind of sad. Albeit, a good read.
Hermey the Elf

What is the male equivalent to Leftover Christmas Cake?
Pon de Ring

You said it brother! THAT is Japan in a nutshell.
Lenna Stites

haha good question, Hermey. I haven’t come across one, but maybe somebody will coin one should gender related marriage trends change!
Lenna Stites

Neo, I’ve read some articles as well about people in Japan not being interested in marriage, for a variety of reasons. But with the population issue that Japan is facing, if the majority of children are being born within a marriage, then so long as there is apathy, then it seems like a decrease in natality will continue to be an issue.
Lenna Stites

those were my feelings while doing the research as well. thanks for commenting!
Lenna Stites

Hi Lava,
interesting points! in some ways, japan is still very traditional and there are many women who quit jobs after getting married to raise kids by choice. so I think that sometimes they just fall into those gender roles. I don’t think every woman is a gold digger, but with the shifts in economy, I do think that stability is something people strive for and in order to live comfortably with a family, a high income may be sought after. Plus there is that pressure for women to get married young, and the idea that it will be harder for them over time. Konkatsu does open more doors for that sort of thing it seems. thanks for commenting!
bocimano

Hmm, I read lots of articles about the acceptance of a working woman, who is married or has children. As far as I know as a tradition or because of society pressure a woman quits her job when she gets married but latest when she gives birth to a child. And they cannot go back to work after that. So knowing this (if this is true), I don’t think that a girl has many choices how to get an income. She must stay at home, being a housewife. The only income comes from the man. So I think this woman-cannot-work-when-having-children behaviour should be changed first among Japanese people. And sooner or later the girls won’t look for rich guys (ok, most of them won’t ;))
Iz

I have the same opinion – I think the government tries to boost the natality in all the wrong ways instead of doing the obvious -> improving the work conditions for women and make it more family friendly (for men as well! ) by providing paid maternity leaves etc. especially as more women seem to be more career driven and want to be successful. marriage and having a child seems to be equivalent of giving up on dreams..
Iz

I think the technological advancements not only put women off anime crazed men (boys really), but virtual girlfriend programs make it easier for men to give up on real-life relationships just because it is ‘safer’ ‘easier’ ‘more convenient’ than to be out there and meeting/interacting with actual people. Virtual girl will be only focused on you as she has no real needs herself – she could be designed to be everything you’d ever want but in the end she will be only a gadget, like a mobile phone. She will never be able to bring excitement and passion into one’s life.
timba

Well, I remember reading an article about life in Singapore. According to this, women usually get married around 30, while they are (and their partners) economically stable. Also a lot of Taiwanese material brings the information that the age for the marriage is more or less the same (30). Maybe it would be a good idea to discuss the topic comparing the situation and customs in those countries.
Lava Yuki

Yes I think most Asian countries are still very traditional in terms of family structure. Like both my grandmothers were housewives. But it looks like Japan and the rest of the world os slowly changing as more women are starting to work, which i like (im sorta feminist in a way!). But Japan still has a long way to go in terms of childcare services and maternity leave.
Lava Yuki

The whole virtual girlfriend thing is just sad. I feel sorry for the men that have to resort to that level.
Musouka

I was watching the 結婚しない TV drama the other day and they mentioned that the ３高 is being replaced by the ３平 so I guess lots of people are facing up to the new realities.

This article says that ４低 might be the next big thing.

http://matome.naver.jp/odai/2134568625658326901
Taco Tuesday Fool

Taiwan is a totally different beast when it comes to psychology. The running joke here is that you take a woman’s age and subtract 10 years, then you’ll know her mental maturity more or less. As for the men, it becomes scary…though military service seems to negate all of the constant hand-holding we received as boys. Hit or miss, you might say.

And forget about Sing, every other dude is nicknamed Benji. Why you ask? Because it’s all about the Benjamins!
Mister Natto

I love my virtual girlfriend, she helps me forget the monster I am married to.
http://zoomingjapan.com/ zoomingjapan

The pressure especially when you’re beyond the 25-year-mark is really woah!
I’m over 30 now and all my previous female Japanese co-workers who were about my age and younger are married by now. Some of them married rather quickly. Like they had no partner at all and suddenly after just a few months, they suddenly send a wedding invitation.
It’s crazy!

I don’t want to judge them, but I doubt that all of them found “their true love”.
It’s so sad that so many still feel that pressure and act accordingly. :(
At work it used to be “topic #1″.

As a foreign woman in Japan, I luckily don’t feel the pressure at all, although it feels strange that all female friends (who are all Japanese) are getting married. ^^
Jonathan Harston

“A majority of women hope to marry a man who has an annual income of $60,000 USD or higher (…) to be able to live comfortably”

Sponging parasites! Get a job! ;)
Eric

I think it’s interesting that people are smarter for waiting for ideal circumstances before getting married and having children, but more naive in thinking they can get there in a traditional way.
People in every modern, industrial nation are finding out that in order to achieve the standard of living of 20+ years ago, usually both in a marriage need to work. But maybe the Japanese are more susceptible to tending toward traditional gendered ways of thinking?