International Marriage in Japan

Despite a slow decline of international marriages in Japan since 2006, the latest demographic studies show that at least 1 in 30 married couples in Japan are in an international marriage.  

There are several theories as to why international marriages have decreased in Japan.  The one cited the most often is that international marriages decreased when Japan changed its immigration laws to crackdown on sham marriages, i.e. marriages that were completed only for the purpose of obtaining a Japanese visa, or vice versa for purposes of financial gain.  

The importance of proving a real and authentic relationship versus a sham relationship became a core focus of Japanese international marriage requirements.    Not to say that there were many sham marriages, because most were authentic. However, the number of sham international marriages have dropped since then and hence the lower numbers in international marriage.

Do the lower numbers mean that Japanese women are looking unfavorably on international marriage? Not at all.  In fact the statistics show that Japanese women choose foreign husbands from many international backgrounds, whereas the majority of Japanese men tend to pick non-Japanese wives from other Asian countries.

What can also be misleading in the decrease of international marriage numbers is the fact that marriage numbers as a whole have decreased in Japan.  The generation of marriage aged Japanese in recent years have not been actively interested in getting married. This has often been attributed to several factors although no single factor alone has been proven to be the main cause :  economics, financial security, lack of social life due to work responsibilities, difficulty meeting partners, and sometimes just a total non-interest in relationships.

This is not to say that Japanese women are no longer interested in getting married.  As a matter of fact there is a wider range of women seeking marriage in Japan now than in the past because Japanese women are now more open to getting married later in life.

In the past, according to tradition, acceptable marriage age was before turning 25.  If you were a single woman at 31-years-old you were considered “last year’s new year’s cake” meaning your ideal marrying age had passed.  

Today’s modern Japanese woman has usually gone through college, has become a professional, and has a successful career.  The 25 years-old or 31 years-old restrictions no longer make any sense.

Many Japanese women are interested in international marriage because foreign men do not grow up with the “new years cake” mentality.  There are still some Japanese men who would not consider a woman past 25 for marriage. In response, many successful, professional women do not find men with these attitudes as desirable husband material either.

International marriages in Japan are actually much more visible than in the past.  There are a large number of non-Japanese workers and residents now living in Japan.  Many Japanese women dream of living abroad and also of finding a husband outside of Japan.   Hawaii is always on the top of the list.

In the final analysis, statistics are merely averaged numbers.  The true test is not the number of international marriages that exist, but whether an international marriage will exist for you!  Will you find the woman who will be the Japanese love of your life? Will you be the American love of her life? That is the one and only true international marriage number that will ever really matter.

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