33% of Japanese think marriage is pointless: survey

[AsahinaKimi]

TOKYO —

Go to college, get a job, meet a guy or girl, and…don’t get married?

A recent survey suggests that almost one-third of Japanese people just can’t see the point in tying the knot and settling down. And after you see what some of them have to say about marriage, you might understand why.

Marriage has long been a staple of Japanese society, with enormous industries dedicated weddings and “omiai” (matchmaking). However, recent decades have seen a shift in social standards and the number of people staying single is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years.

With this mind, the magazine Joshi Spa! conducted a survey inspired by a June event extolling the virtues of not getting married. The magazine revealed that 33.5% of the 37,610 respondents said they didn’t see any merit in marriage.

more..http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/33-of-japanese-think-marriage-is-pointless-survey

[Art_from_Ark]

1. They see their parents doing "kateinai bekkyo"

(which means being unofficially estranged but still living in the same house) and they figure "Why bother?"

[Locut0s]

2. I'm assuming this practice has to do with the stigma carried by divorce? nt.

[Art_from_Ark]

3. That could have something to do with it

But that stigma may be disappearing, if the number of single mothers I know/have met is any indication. I know of at least 6 Japanese ladies who have told me that they are single mothers, and a couple more who very likely are.

At the same time, there is another conundrum-- Say a Japanese man works decades to pay for a house. If he gets a divorce, who gets the house? If they have minor children and the wife gets custody, then she will probably get the house as well, and he will have to find another place to stay. So if their house is roomy enough, they'll probably just avoid each other, and the man will spend more time socializing after work, not only with drinking buddies but perhaps also with ladies who like to hang out in front of hotels.

[Locut0s]

4. Japan's salaryman culture is sad...

Generations of men ground to dust working inane cubicle jobs for what? Not saying we don't do this in the west but Japan takes it to another level. And I love most things Japanese.

[Art_from_Ark]

5. It is pretty sad

I used to be incredulous when I would talk to men about their "tanshin funin" (being assigned to work in a location outside of commuting distance, meaning that the man would move to the job site and leave his family behind) or "dekasegi" (where a (usually) family man leaves a rural area to find work in a city). "Aren't you sad about this?" I would ask. Nearly all of them said, "Not at all", since it gave them a reason to be away from their wives.

A long time ago, there was a popular Japanese drama called "Otoko wa tsurai yo" ("It's tough being a man&quot that had this type of situation as one of its themes.

[AsahinaKimi]

6. Otoko wa tsurai yo!

[davidpdx]

7. Sounds very similar to Korea

[AsahinaKimi]

8. Kekkon Dekinai Otoko

A very funny Jdorama!

[yuiyoshida]

10. I loved that jdorama!

[AsahinaKimi]

11. Un! DU e yokoso!

Yoshida san!

[yuiyoshida]

12. Ojama Shimasu!

Arigatou! Kimi sama!

[Nanjing to Seoul]

9. Sounds like China after the married couple has a baby

Then the man tells his wife she's old and fat. . .and finds his mistress. While the woman sacrifices here sexuality and desires and spends the rest of her life pampering her little prince/princess because it's the only thing in her life.