1 in 5 married couples in Japan found partner through dating app, survey

Around one in five couples who got married in Japan in 2022 met through dating apps as life “with corona” continues to limit opportunities for face-to-face encounters, according to a recent survey. 

The results of a survey looking into married life in Japan carried out by Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company revealed that use of dating service applications, or “matching apps,” is the fastest growing trend among couples who go on to marry.

22.6 percent of survey respondents who got married in 2022 met through dating apps, up from 16.9 percent in 2021, according to the survey. Of couples who got married in the period from 2020 to 2022, approximately since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, 18.8 percent met through dating apps.  

The figures represent a significant increase in the use of dating apps in Japan compared to life before the outbreak of the novel coronavirus - only 6.6 percent of couples who got married during the period of 2015 to 2019 had met through dating apps. The survey recorded no married couples who had met through such apps prior to 2010. 

Along with the prevalence of smartphones making people more familiar with the option of dating apps, the promotion of remote working styles as well as people choosing to show restraint in going out since the outbreak of the virus has led to a decline in “real” encounters. 

Apps are becoming established as the new form of meeting potential partners and may become even more popular in the future, according to the survey creators.

Dating apps still have some catching up to do in the grand scheme of the things.

With survey respondents aged between 20 to 79 years the top three match-making scenarios leading to marriage, regardless the year of marriage, were found to be in the workplace (29.3 percent), introduction through friends or acquaintances (24.3 percent), and as classmates at school (14.1 percent).

As for the key to a successful marriage, among the 1,620 respondents, all of whom were married, good communication emerged as key, followed by expressions of gratitude, and caring for one another’s health.

Interesting, or alarmingly, refraining from infidelity or cheating was selected by 27 percent of respondents as being among the key factors for a successful marriage. (Presumably for those respondents who didn’t tick that box, refraining from cheating goes without saying?!)

While displays of physical affection, or “skinship,” was selected as a key factor by 23.5 percent of respondents, there was no mention, or option to mention, the importance of life in the bedroom. 

As for material displays of affection, the survey found that on average married couples were giving or exchanging gifts 2.6 times a year with the most popular occasions to do so being birthdays, Valentine’s Day (or White Day), and Mother’s / Father’s Day respectively.  

After what appears to have been a crash in the monetary value of gifts given around the time of the financial crisis of 2008, the value of gifts exchanged between married couples in Japan has been on a steady increase. In 2022 average spending per one-time gift was up to 16,545 yen, according to the survey. 

The results of the survey were published ahead of November 22, a date which is sometimes referred to as “good couple day” in Japan on accounts of an albeit tenuous connection between the numerals of the date and their resemblance to the pronunciation ii fufu, which can be translated from Japanese as “good married couple.”

The survey, which targeted married couples across Japan, was carried out online in October. 

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