The percentage of men who have never been married by age 50 topped 20 percent for the first time on record in 2010, coinciding with another societal trend that finds more males are living on reduced incomes, according to a government survey.

The finding was revealed in a population census report by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research in late March.

It will be included in the white paper on children and child-rearing to be compiled by the Cabinet Office in June.