Ratio of unmarried Japanese men at 50 grows to over 20%

TOKYO - The ratio of lifetime unmarried Japanese - the percentage of people who remain unmarried at the age of 50 - rose to a record high of 20.1 per cent among men and 10.6 per cent among women as of 2010, it has been learned.

The results will be contained in the 2012 white paper on children and child-rearing, which is expected to be approved by the Cabinet in early June.

In 1980, the ratio was 2.6 per cent for men and 4.5 per cent for women. During the last 30 years, this figure has increased by about eight times for men and more than doubled for women.

The ratios began increasing sharply around 1990, according to the Cabinet Office.

By age bracket, the ratio of unmarried people aged 25 to 29 was 71.8 per cent for men and 60.3 per cent for women. That of men aged 30 to 34 was 47.3 per cent, while for women of the same age it was 34.5 per cent.

The ratio for men aged 35 to 39 was 35.6 per cent and that of women was 23.1 per cent.