Vast majority of young Tokyoites keen on marriage, having kids, but reality is harsh: survey

TOKYO — An overwhelming majority of young people in the Japanese capital are positive about getting married and having children, but a lack of opportunities to meet partners and financial concerns are some of the barriers they face, according to the results of a recent survey that highlight the huge gap between ideal and reality.

Tokyo attracts young people from rural regions, but its total fertility rate — the average number of children a woman gives birth to in her lifetime — fell below 1 for the first time in 2023 to 0.99, the lowest among Japan’s 47 prefectures.

The Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry conducted the April-May online survey of 2,198 people aged 18 to 34 who worked at businesses in the capital.

When asked about their attitudes toward marriage, only 9.7% of respondents said they “do not intend to get married ever,” while 50.3% said they “intend to get married someday.” Combined with those who were already married (35.8%), more than 80% of all respondents had a positive attitude about marriage.

Regarding barriers to marriage, with multiple answers permitted, the most common response at 42.7% was “no opportunities to meet people (potential partners),” followed by “financial concerns (income, employment, housing costs, student loan repayments, education expenses, etc.)” at 36.7%.

Other than these two points, prominent responses by gender included “a possibility of transfer requiring a move” chosen by 20% and “a lack of the opposite sex at work” selected by 19.4% of unmarried men. Among unmarried women, “increased burden of housework and child care” was a barrier chosen by 29.5% and “anxiety that marriage will interfere with career” was selected by 17.4%.

Asked about the ideal number of children, more than 70% of respondents said they want multiple children, with 56.7% saying “two” and 19.7% answering “three or more.”

However, when asked about the number of children they can realistically expect to have, the responses changed drastically, with 39.5% saying “two” and mere 4.7% answering “three or more.”

While 14.5% of respondents answered that they do not want a child, 20.4% thought they cannot realistically have any. Also, 9.1% said they want “one” child, but the percentage of those who thought they can have just one was significantly higher at 35.3%. These figures indicate that many young people think they can have at the most one child, if any.

What are the obstacles for those who do not think they can have children or are thinking of limiting the number? Answers included “increased burden of housework and child care” selected by 39.2% and “partner’s understanding of work and cooperative attitude toward housework and child care” chosen by 33.7%, but the overwhelming factor was “financial concerns” at 74.1%, which was also a major barrier to marriage.

The chamber of commerce and industry pointed out, “In addition to countermeasures against nonmarriage by creating opportunities to meet people, it is also important to resolve economic concerns toward marriage, childbirth and child-rearing.” Since many in double income households with children work for financial and other reasons, the chamber is calling for businesses to establish a working environment on the premise that employees are dual earning married people.

(Japanese original by Yuko Shimada, Business News Department)