According to this article "Japanese people marrying after the age of 35 is close to impossible", with 3% of men and 2% of women tying the knot, respectively.

For 40~45, it's 0.4% for men and 0.5% for women.

Continued

1/7 https://news.livedoor.com/article/detail/6159527/

The article claims 2 main reasons for the low "success rate".

1) JP people in their 30s spent their 20s working or putting their hobbies before looking for love. This makes them inexperienced in the field of love.

Which leads to problem 2) "Understanding Value".

2/7

Because a lot of these JP people are inexperienced with love, they tend to aim way higher than what's realistic.

Men looking for younger pretty partners, women looking for high-earning hunks.

This causes a mismatch and they're unable to find their "perfect spouse".

3/7

Something the article doesn't mention is JP society's pressure on people (women) to have kids.

A woman's "purpose" is often boiled down to "poppin out babies to fight the declining population". JP society & work culture is all shaped around this notion.

4/7

So when woman are past the "prime age of giving birth", I can kinda see why the marriage rate drops. Just living in JP, "marriage for love" isn't really talked about. Marriage = Kids here. So if people aren't planning to have kids, marriage isn't necessary.

5/7

Japan has a sexist term for women called the "Christmas Cake".

"No one wants to eat a Christmas Cake after the 25th day of Dec"

No one wants to marry a woman after she's past 25.

No one actually says this anymore in the open. But the "expiry date" idea still exists.

6/7

It's been pushed back to 30~33.

So if you're hoping to come to Japan and find your dream waifu/husbando, your chances are a lot higher in your 20s and early 30s. If you're over 35, might wanna buy some lottery tickets instead.

7/7