Arranged marriage in Japan

Photo for marriage meeting

In Japan, we have still arranged marriages. It is said about 75-80% of all Japanese marriages are love marriage, but the rest is still arranged marriage.

Different from the image of old western arranged marriage, there is not pressure to marry an introduced person if you don't want to marry.

A meeting  with a view to marriage is arranged by a go-between (in Japanese, "Nakodo"). Nakodos are just normal citizen who enjoy introducing potential marriage partners. The parents of the man or woman make the first contact with the Nakodo and send profile with the photo which was taken at the photo studio. The parents sometimes attend the first meeting of potential couple. The final decision will be made by the man or woman.

Go-between - Nakodo

Besides this type of grass-roots arrangement, there are many marriage agencies. (this is rather similar to "blind date" in the western countries).  The fee depends on the agency, but the average is : Admin fee 20,000 yen,  monthly fee 10,000 yen, arranging fee: 10,000 yen/person.

The average age to get married for the first time was 31.7 for men and 29.4 for women. (in 2008)
Up until the early 70's, the average age for women was under 25, but it has been rising ever since, as more women are pursuing higher education and professional careers.
Today, both men and women are getting married at a wider range of ages. With this tendency to marry late, the increasing rate of unmarried people, especially women, can be considered a social problem. About 60% of Japanese women between the ages of 25 and 29 aren't married.