Age Gap between Partners in Japan: An Acceptable Marriage Partner Could Be How Many Years Older Than You?

10 Year Difference Is Most Acceptable

A long time ago, the remarriage of a 68-year-old comedian to a 23-year-old woman made the news.  What are the young people of today thinking about the difference in age in their marriage partners?  When males and females in their 20s were asked how many years older an acceptable marriage partner could be, 27% of the males responded that females up to 10 years older would be acceptable.  This indicates that they would see females that were fairly older than themselves as potential marriage partners.

Looking at the female responses, the group that responded that males up to 10 years older would be acceptable was the largest at 37%.  However, if we add up the numbers of females that responded that males 15 or more years older would be acceptable, the percentage is 27%.  Thus, the total percentage of females that consider males 10 or more years older than themselves as potential marriage partners is 64%, indicating that many females are not concerned about the age difference even if it is a fairly large one. So, what is the attraction in an older person?  In regards to what to expect when associating with an older female, males answered with “relaxed mood,” “sympathetic with other’s feelings” and “able to grow.”  On the other hand, females answered with “tolerance” followed by “economic strength” and “relaxed mood.”

Conducted among 400 people (200 males and 200 females) in their 20s

Source: Macromill (2019)