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The story
A thread introducing data on unmarried rates among people in their 30s appeared on 5ch’s “Nandemo Jikkyo G” board. The numbers showed 47.3% of men and 34.5% of women aged 30-34 unmarried, and 35.6% of men and 23.1% of women aged 35-39 unmarried, sparking comments like “everyone around me is married, this doesn’t match my experience,” calls for a “singles tax” or “childless tax” to ease the burden on households, and pushback from others branding married people the “losers” instead. The thread also cited reports that the unmarried rate among people in their 30s in Seoul, South Korea, has topped 60%, extending the discussion to how the trend isn’t unique to Japan.
What people said
Men aged 35-39: 35.6% unmarried, Women: 23.1% unmarried
Yeah, just look around you, that's how it is
True, but eventually androids will come along and…
But sucking up (to women) is the only way to actually have kids
No need to repeat other countries' mistakes
Some loner who has no clue what happens if you force broke people to have kids
You're all married too, right?
That checks out if you're a college grad
Might be rare here where it's full of middle school and high school grads
Go on, try it then
Doesn't look like it'll last 10 more years, what's your plan?
Cash-flow-wise, stretching out your DINK (dual income, no kids) years is clearly easier
Unless you're using cheats like dumping the kids on your parents or getting financial help from them
In that case, having kids early to lower the pregnancy risk is the strongest move
The birth rate among married couples is close to 2.0 after all
The bottom tier dragging things down is the real cause of the falling birthrate
Nothing changes unless you crack the whip on them
Crack the whip on us and we'll drag you down with us, though?
This really shows singles are the enemy of society
We should keep cracking the whip on them
South Korea's combined unmarried rate for people in their 30s is already over 50%
South Korea's 30s unmarried rate: 51.3% nationally… highest in Seoul at 62.8%
https://www.afpbb.com/articles/-/3550417
South Korea's genuinely heading toward unmarried people becoming the majority of the population
And on top of that, men have to pay alimony, child support, and split assets with their ex-wives
I think younger generations see that and figure marriage is pointless
Well, you could just make the singles tax kick in only from age 40 or 45
Though you'd need to figure out how to handle divorce and widowhood too
Exactly this
Taking money from singles is dumb — take it from people who get married and don't have kids
Of course we'll take even more from singles too
In the end, it all comes down to money
Just hand out money and it's solved, isn't it
You have to properly tax singles too
I think it's fine to collect tax from: married-without-kids (with a 3-year grace period from the wedding), singles (age 40+), and households with only Japanese nationality and no children
It does help, since more households are only having one kid
The birth rate among married couples has been flat at around 2 though
For the older, larger generations, having 3 or more kids was the norm, yet the number has gradually slipped below 2 — isn't that proof plenty of recent couples are only having one?
Background and Key Points of This Topic
The rising unmarried rate is a statistic that keeps resurfacing in Japan’s debates over its declining birthrate, and the figures cited in the thread are roughly in line with the government’s official population statistics. The “singles tax” and “childless tax” floated in the thread are not policies actually under consideration — they’re hypothetical funding proposals that often get raised on forums, and it’s worth noting they are not government policy. It’s also easy to conflate the claim that “the birth rate among married couples is close to 2.0” with Japan’s overall total fertility rate (around 1.2) — the former applies only to couples who are already married and is a separate metric. The thread also cited reporting that the unmarried rate among people in their 30s in Seoul, South Korea, has passed 60%, fueling discussion of how the falling birthrate and rising unmarried rate aren’t unique to Japan.
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “[Sad News] The Unmarried Rate for People in Their 30s Is Getting Out of Hand wwwwwwwwwwww.”
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