Nearly 1 in 4 men and 1 in 7 women in Japan were yet to be married at age 50 in 2015 in a clear sign that Japanese are increasingly shying away from tying the knot, a government report has showed.

The new report, obtained ahead of its release by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, showed the proportion of people who have never married by age 50 hit a record 23.37 percent for men, up 3.23 percentage points from the previous survey in 2010, and a record 14.06 percent for women, up 3.45 points.

The figures were in sharp contrast with a 1970 survey that showed 1.70 percent of men and 3.33 percent of women had never married by that age.