Low-income bachelors victims of widening 'sex gap'

Over the past several years, Japan’s economists have devoted much discussion to the widening gap in living standards. Writing in biweekly magazine Sapio (Sept 30), economist Takashi Kadokura discusses how disparities between the haves and the have-nots are affecting people’s sex lives.

Kadokura first cites a survey of 502 single women conducted by Match.com, an Internet matchmaking site, in which 46% of the respondents said they would expect a prospective mate to earn at least 4 million yen per year. (Another 29% gave 6 million yen as their cutoff point.)

Income and population demographics, however, clash head-on with these women’s expectations. According to a 2007 survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications on wage earners, only about 1.58 million single males in Japan earn more than 4 million yen annually. The 2005 census determined the population of unmarried women in the 25-34 age segment to be approximately 3.87 million, so by extrapolating these figures, Kadokura calculates that if 4 million yen is an absolute condition for marriage, then 2.28 million women—just under 60% of the total—are left with the choice of compromise or lifelong spinsterhood.

In 2005, the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research released a nationwide survey in which it found that roughly one male out of every four in the 30-34 age segment had never experienced sexual intercourse.

Thus, while on the one hand, more teens receive their initiation to sex from an increasingly early age—because among this group, hormonal urges outweigh economic considerations—among those who miss out, however, growing numbers are destined to join the ranks of the working poor, becoming “middle-aged male virgins” who not only lack the means to conduct wholesome courtships, but who are also unable to afford the price of admission to a sex shop.

In his own survey of 300 single men via the Internet last year, Kadokura found that 73.9% of those in the lowest income bracket (under 2 million yen/year) were not dating at all, and 85.5% said they had never patronized a commercial sex establishment.

Interestingly, the respective figures for males in the 9 to 12 million yen income bracket were 33.3% and 37%, suggesting that while men on the lower rung of the economic ladder are hard up for girlfriends or marriage partners, the situation is also quite gloomy for those with very high incomes. Many high achievers, apparently, have the means to wed, but are too focused on their jobs, and too stressed out or physically exhausted from the demands of their work to enjoy a satisfying sex life, even when they can afford it.

For low-income households, the newly elected DPJ government’s proposal to provide a “kodomo teate” subsidy to offspring may afford low-income couples with a possible solution. Certainly there’s more to male-female relationships than just economics; but Kadokura concludes that to keep the “sex gap” from becoming further skewed, it may be necessary to rectify the widening income disparities, perhaps through such measures as wage controls or work sharing.

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Latest 15 of 82 Total Comments Show All

dontpanic at 06:35 PM JST - 18th September

Seems to me that if you have a bit more money, you'll get laid a bit more. I think it was always like this, anywhere, why are people shocked?
Klein2 at 07:50 PM JST - 18th September

Alphawolf. First of all, how come you get to say ass, and I don't?

But aside from that, I agree with you. Misanthropes and misogynists deserve each other. Mutual disdain lubricated with money and sex still wears out the cogs after awhile. The whole chase thing gets boring really fast.

Kirakira has found the answer. All you need is love, baby, yeah.
kirakira25 at 10:29 AM JST - 19th September

All you need is love, baby, yeah.

You got it babe!

I would also add trust, mutual respect, regular foot rubs/neck rubs, shared beers, a supportive mother in law and a great network of girlfriends to sound off to every time the sh%t hits the fan - which it does in any relationship.
GW at 11:39 AM JST - 19th September

alphawolf

if yr as good at reading people as you think you are maybe you shud the "talent" thing on tv haha
IvanCoughalot at 12:13 AM JST - 20th September

What? Japanese women want men with cash to spend? Well, blow me down...
Klein2 at 02:04 AM JST - 20th September

Oh no. Not foot rubs. I know I am supposed to do that, but... anyway.. a supportive mother in law... hmm... I would settle for neutral... like Switzerland. And my problem is that MY network of girlfriends sounds off too much... haha. Just kidding.

Anyway, it DOES sound like you lucked out there. I am lucky too, but in different ways.

I think I should come out and say that money is a serious distraction. Basing a relationship on money is like... what... ? Someone help me out here...

I tried to do that when I was poor, and it just got stupid. You try it when you are not so poor, and it is just a waste of time. If I can go even further out on a limb, one thing I liked about Benjamin Button is that it shows ... in a very strange way... that you cannot even base a relationship on time.

The bottom line, corny as it sounds, is that money cant buy you love, and love is timeless. Learning that is an important life lesson. Young Japanese women can play it any way they want to, but I think that looking for money is not the best strategy. Maybe it is the best they can count on.
kirakira25 at 09:36 AM JST - 21st September

Hmmm - it`s a really interesting subject - money or love?

I cant honestly say money is not important - in that, it would break my heart if I couldnt buy my kids an ice-cream as a special treat, and I would hate not to be able to relax at Starbucks once in a while because "we can`t afford it" - I think it is where you personally set the bar that is the key.

I think - not to defend them at all - but in some ways I can understand the Japanese women`s drive for financial security, given that it does seem to be much harder for them to set themselves up independantly here than it was for me and other western women in our culture.

But bottom line - I could never marry a guy for money if there was no deep love and connection there. It wouldn`t feel right. In fact, thinking about it I never thought I could ever marry anyone at all until I met my husband!

Basing a relationship on money is like... what... ? Someone help me out here...

I would say building a house on sand. It looks nice and steady for a while, but the foundations it is based on are just not stable.
SiouxGirl at 04:17 PM JST - 21st September

There is some sense in this because it's not cheap to live, and isn't Tokyo an expensive city to live in? Each partner in a relationship needs to be able to pull their own weight, that's how hard the world is right now. When I hear about a couple where one partner has been off of work for 2 or 3 years because of illness, I cringe in pain for them. The cost of living is just too high to live on one partner's salary alone.

Women who are using their husband as a cash register - stop that. You have to be able to support yourself in case there comes a day, and there's a good chance there will come a day, that you need to live on your own income. Make sure you can take care of yourself.

I've been married 4 years and have known my husband for 7 altogether. When we found each other we were broke students just getting out of college. Don't throw in the towel! There are a lot of things two people can do for an inexpensive date. My husband offered to cook dinner for me when we were still just friends and I was very impressed by that. Sure, he's not the world's best cook but the care and effort really said it all. Especially the offer of a ride home from the emergency room afterwards. (Just kidding.)

So, while it's crucial these days for people to have enough money to live on, it's silly to suggest that the poor can't find love because they're poor, or that EVERYTHING revolves around money. The desire to work toward a decent income is also important, as is the get-up-and-go that needs to come with it.
GW at 07:27 PM JST - 21st September

I think National Geographic shud do a documentaryon this, wud be a great watch!

I think many here are missing what these gold diggers want, they dont want love, they want the security to never have to work again, any love etc that may occur is a fluke/bonus. These $$$ marriages are the ones where the husband & wife live under the same roof but live virtualy separate lives for the most part, if thats what they both want, thats what they get
jqsjqs at 04:02 PM JST - 27th September

This is literally academic. In all cultures, women tend to operate the same way. When they are young, they want the "bad boys" because it's fun. When they get more mature (at whatever age), they want security - either financial or emotional. In this day and age, there is no greater indication of whether a partner can provide financial security than their salary. This is not a superficial reaction - but rather a very understandable and deep-seated human need to ensure protection of future offspring.
bdiego at 04:07 AM JST - 1st October

Kadokura has astounding trouble with basic arithmatic. Their own survey says 46% of women require 4 million yen - no surprise. That means 54% of women don't have such an income requirement. They then pull out of their ass the claim that every woman who doesn't get a 4 million man is compromising. Typical tabloid reasoning.
bdiego at 04:09 AM JST - 1st October

Exactly jqsjqs, this is simple common sense. Darwin takes care of men and women who don't care about money at all.
bamboohat at 09:59 PM JST - 2nd October

had never experienced sexual intercourse.

Thus, while on the one hand

oh, I get it JT, very funny
bamboohat at 10:13 PM JST - 2nd October

Men look for cute women without brain, it is a fact

Not quite. Study after study has shown that for short term relationships, men indeed prefer brainless beauties. But for long term pair bonding, men prefer women with at least some kind of intellect. Although many times a guy will hook up for a brainless beauty for long term pair bonding, only to realize too late what a horrible mistake he's made.
ReikiZen at 06:42 PM JST - 9th October

OK, let's do the math. 44,000,000 yen is about 45,000 US approx. That is a lot even by US standards. I feel sorry for the J-guys! J-Women really need to quite being so shallow. Money is important but it won't guarantee you anything especially happiness. If these statistics are correct how do Japanese men make it? Japan is far more expensive to live then US by a long shot which maybe the exception of New York but overall J-men are screwed. It would take me likely 3 years to make the cutoff point for what J-Women consider average. Wow, and I thought women in US had high standards lol.