Majority of single Japanese men in their 30s have never had relationship with marriage prospects, poll shows

Nearly 2 in 3 single men in their 30s who had never been married have not been in a relationship they thought might lead to getting hitched, a recent online poll showed.

In the survey conducted by the Meiji Yasuda Institute of Life and Wellness, 62.7 percent of male respondents and 39.4 percent of female respondents aged between 25 and 34 said they have never been in such relationships.

“While it is still the dominant way of thinking that males should approach females first, many men are passive in terms of romantic relationships. As a result, they have trouble starting serious relationships that lead to marriage,” the survey found.

Asked in the survey why they have not been dating, the most common response among all men — and women in their late 20s — was that they don’t know how to start a relationship.

The results were based on responses from 3,296 unmarried men and women in the age group who volunteered for the online survey conducted in March.

Among those in the age group who said they have had a relationship they thought might lead to marriage, 24.7 percent said they were still dating while 24.2 percent said their relationships had ended.

The survey asked respondents about their thoughts on marriage. It found that 32.0 percent of male and 38.8 percent of female respondents had no strong preferences or conditions when it came to choosing a partner.

Nearly 31 percent of men and 25.9 percent of women said they never want to get married or they had wanted to get married but had lost hope. Only 10.8 percent of male respondents and 13.5 percent of female respondents said they want to get married after lowering their standards for an their ideal or conditions they expect of their ideal partner.

Nearly 88 percent of female respondents said they do not mind keeping their jobs after marriage, while 77.2 percent of male respondents said they want their spouses to continue working after marriage

The average age for a first marriage in Japan is 31.1 for men and 29.4 for women, according to 2015 data.

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