From June to July 2018, NHK conducted a survey to explore changes in people’s consciousness. They interviewed about 5,400 people, and about 2,751 of these people provided responses.

When asked about the idea of marriage, 68% of the respondents answered that they did not see a need to get married. NHK has conducted this survey every 5 years since 1974, and this percentage has been increasing since 1993. This is actually the highest percentage ever!

By age group, 88% of people in their 30’s answered that they didn’t see a need to get married, while people over 70 years old only answered this way 43% of the time. When it came to children, the answers didn’t get much better, as 60% of the people said they didn’t want to have kids when married.

However, don’t feel sad that love seems to be missing in Japan, as it seems that this may simply reflect the idea that Japanese people see other lifestyle opportunities available to them. So don’t worry, you can still find that special someone that is right for you!