Everyday Money

We all know that coping with everyday money in our relationships can be like climbing Everest without oxygen but in Japan it appears that before partners are united in wedded bliss, financial status is the yardstick.

It appears that the most widely cited reason for stalling on getting married for men, and second-highest among women, was anxiety over whether the wedded couple would be economically comfortable enough: It seems 3 million yen in annual income is the magic number.

The marriage rate among men sharply diverges between those who bring home at least 3 million yen per year and those whose income comes in under the bar. The marriage rate soared more than two-fold among men both in their 20s and 30s once they made more than 3 million yen or more. Roughly just 9% of men both in their 20s and 30s who make less than that were married. Meanwhile, 25% to 40% of men whose income exceeds that stratum were coupled up.

It may however be that some men are just not that into the idea of getting married. In 2010, the average monthly salary of men up to 34 years old was 313,980 yen, which would be about 3.7 million yen a year, according to the communications ministry.