90% of Japanese women happy in marriage

Over 90% of married women are happy, according to recently published survey results.

The survey was carried out online in January with 200 adult men and women (100 each). Hardly a big sample size, though the results were surprisingly uniform.

Of the 100 women, 94 said that they were happy after marrying. This isn’t quite the same as saying they were happy in or with their marriage (as in, the specific conditions of their marriage or their spouse), nor do we have data for how long these women had been married. Inevitably, the shine does come off and the daily toil of working long hours, raising kids, and doing household chores (the latter two of which are generally borne more heavily by the wives) contributes to killing romance and love in a marriage after a few years, with the result that half of Japanese marriages are sexless.

Of the merits of marriage, 62 respondents said that it gives you someone to help you out, 55 said children, and 50 said being together with the person you love. The women did recognize the demerits, though, including no longer have time to yourself, not being to spend money how you wish, and having to deal with in-laws.

The results were similar with the male respondents: 95% said they were glad they had married, claiming that the merits of marriage include that their wife will cook them dinner and take care of them.

The survey was carried out by a Fukuoka-based company that runs a matchmaking and dating service, so it is in its best interest to present marriage in a good light as Japan grapples with declining marriage (and more importantly, birth) rates.

Though divorce rates in Japan remain lower than many other nations in the Global North, adultery is quite common — including among women (over 30%, according to one estimate back in the late 2010s). This is especially prominent in the public eye and popular culture since the success of the TV series (and later movie) Hirugao: Love Affairs in the Afternoon, starring Aya Ueto as an adulterous young wife, and then the Netflix series Fishbowl Wives.