One in three single men and women in big cities have gone on matchmaking dates despite a general trend among urbanites of regarding arranged marriages as unfashionable, according to a recent survey conducted in Tokyo and Osaka.
Out of 300 men and women polled in August by the film- and camera-maker Konica Corp., 33 percent said they had experienced "omiai" -- a custom in which matchmakers intercede and introduce potential partners to each other and to each other's parents.
An age breakdown of the survey shows that 21 percent of those between 20 and 24 had gone on dates of this kind, while 53 percent of those over 35 had also experienced an omiai linkup.
While only 7 percent of the people polled said they definitely wanted an arranged marriage, 79 percent said they wanted to try an omiai date at least once in their life -- suggesting that they wanted the experience but not necessarily the resulting arranged marriage.