Why Fewer Young Japanese Want Children: Money, Marriage and an Uncertain Future

Only About Four in 10 Young Adults Want Children

Only about 40% of Japanese people in their twenties said they wanted children in an April 2025 survey by human resource services provider Mynavi. The figure had fallen for a second consecutive year, dropping by more than eight percentage points since 2023. Among unmarried respondents in their thirties, just 30.8% wanted children.

Those figures capture a change reaching beyond decisions about babies. Young adults are weighing the expense of raising a family, their confidence as parents, demanding jobs and expectations about who will do the work at home. Many are also questioning whether marriage is necessary or whether their country's future will improve.

Japan, once known for its postwar baby boom and bustling cities, now faces a demographic crisis that is reshaping society. A shrinking population and an aging workforce put pressure on the economy and the systems that support older people. Decisions made around kitchen tables and in workplaces therefore have consequences far beyond individual households.

As of August 30, 2025, government responses include greater spending on childcare, broader child benefits and efforts to help singles meet potential spouses. Yet the concerns expressed by young people reach across wages, housing, gender equality and personal freedom. Making parenthood affordable is one part of the challenge. Making it feel compatible with a secure and satisfying life is another.

When Raising a Child Feels Too Expensive

Mynavi's survey found that 41.1% of respondents in their twenties cited the expense of raising children as a primary reason for not wanting them. Another 40.7% expressed a lack of confidence in their ability to raise a child, a concern often connected to money.

Housing, education and childcare can place heavy demands on family budgets, especially in urban centers. A young adult considering parenthood has to think about everyday expenses alongside the longer commitment of supporting a child through school. Stagnant wages and high living costs make that commitment harder to contemplate.

A nationwide survey led by Nihon University's Suetomi Kaori found that 52% of Japanese people aged 15 to 39 did not want children. Many described economic hardship that already limited their own lives, including being unable to afford travel, social activities or even basic necessities such as food.

More than 60% of respondents who did not want children had annual incomes below 2.99 million yen, about $20,000. For someone struggling to meet current needs, taking responsibility for another person's needs can feel beyond reach.

The government has increased childcare spending and removed income caps for child benefits. Removing a cap allows families above the previous earnings limit to receive support too. Skepticism persists, however, about whether financial incentives can reverse declining interest in parenthood while insecure employment, stagnant pay, expensive daily life and gender inequality continue.

Marriage Is Becoming Less Necessary to Young Adults

Only 48% of people in their twenties and 38.9% of those in their thirties considered marriage personally necessary in the Mynavi survey. Those figures represented a decline of more than 10 percentage points since 2022.

Marriage and childbirth remain closely connected in Japan, where births outside marriage are rare compared with Western countries. A decline in the number of people who want to marry therefore matters for the number who may eventually become parents.

A 2021 survey by Japan's National Institute of Population and Social Security found that a record 17.3% of men and 14.6% of women aged 18 to 34 had no intention of ever marrying. In the early 1980s, the corresponding figures were 2.3% for men and 4.1% for women.

The change amounted to 15 percentage points among men and 10.5 percentage points among women. Across those decades, rejecting marriage moved from a relatively uncommon position to one held by a much larger share of young adults.

Shigeki Matsuda, a sociologist at Chukyo University, described how growing reluctance to marry could affect government efforts to address low fertility:

If the number of people who don't want to marry continues to increase, the government will be forced to review its policies, and it could lead to a further decline in fertility.

Independence, Jobs and Unequal Expectations

Young women increasingly value the independence that comes with remaining single and pursuing a career. Men cite concerns about job security and their ability to provide for a family. Both concerns connect marriage to expectations that can feel difficult to meet.

Japan's long working hours and demanding corporate culture also leave limited time for dating, marriage and parenting. For someone whose job already fills most of the week, starting a family requires finding time as well as money.

Traditional gender roles add another layer. Women are still expected to take primary responsibility for caregiving, even as more pursue higher education and careers. Marriage and motherhood can therefore appear to carry unequal costs for women's time, earnings and professional ambitions.

Many women also remain in precarious jobs and face a substantial gender wage gap. Lower or less secure earnings can make it harder to build financial independence, while expectations about domestic work can make it difficult to remain fully engaged in paid employment after having children.

These pressures help explain why a payment tied to childbirth may leave deeper concerns unresolved. A household must also work out who can leave work, who will care for a child each day and whose career may have to change.

A Lack of Hope Adds to Financial Anxiety

The Nippon Foundation's 2024 survey of 18-year-olds found that only 15% of Japanese respondents believed their country's future would improve. Just 60% said they had dreams for their own future.

Both results were the lowest among the six countries surveyed: Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, China, South Korea and India. Japanese respondents also recorded the lowest self-esteem and sense of agency, meaning the feeling that they could act and make a difference.

Fewer than half believed their actions could change society. Many young people feel that Japan gives priority to supporting older people over supporting the young, adding to feelings of alienation and uncertainty.

Academic research by Yuki Yamaoka connects this lack of hope with Japan's low birthrate. Economic uncertainty, the feeling that young people cannot influence their country and traditional values resistant to change can combine to make starting a family feel risky or unattainable.

A young survey respondent expressed the connection between money and confidence in the future:

It's not just about money. It's about whether we feel secure enough to build a future.

Young Workers Are Seeking More Time for Life

Younger workers are challenging Japan's rigid workplace culture by seeking jobs that offer personal growth, meaningful work and time off. Some companies are responding with benefits such as weekends lasting three days and opportunities to develop skills.

More flexible career paths and a better balance between work and personal life could make room for relationships and caregiving. The same changes also serve people who want a fulfilling life without marriage or children.

Progress remains slow. A shorter working week at some employers does not resolve the insecure jobs many women hold, the gender wage gap or the expectation that women will perform most domestic work and childcare.

Government support has also largely centered on traditional married couples. Single parents and LGBTQ families are often excluded from support programs, leaving gaps for households whose needs fall outside that model.

Benefits and Matchmaking Address Different Parts of the Problem

Successive Japanese governments have introduced financial bonuses for families, expanded childcare services and supported efforts to encourage marriage. Local governments have also sponsored matchmaking apps.

Tokyo's "Matching App" is intended to help singles find marriage partners. Critics argue that such initiatives are superficial when the reasons people hesitate to marry include insecure work, high costs and unequal expectations at home.

A matchmaking service addresses the difficulty of meeting someone. Child benefits address part of the expense of raising a child. Neither directly changes a demanding workplace or decides how a couple will divide caregiving.

Proposals for broader reform therefore cover several connected areas:

• Addressing stagnant wages and insecure employment.
• Reducing living costs, especially in urban areas.
• Promoting gender equality at work and at home.
• Expanding support for single parents, LGBTQ couples and other nontraditional families.
• Changing labor practices to give people more time outside work.

Financial assistance can ease household costs, but the wider argument is about whether young adults can build stable lives. Government efforts to encourage childbirth face limits when the practical conditions of employment, housing and caregiving remain difficult.

Education Proposals Meet Questions About Women's Choices

Some commentators propose investing more in family planning education from an early age. Their proposals include teaching the importance of family, the value of raising children and the social benefits of stable family units.

Such proposals face substantial cultural resistance. Japanese society has increasingly prioritized career development and economic contribution, and women are now regarded as vital members of the workforce.

Encouraging women to put motherhood ahead of careers would likely provoke a backlash in a society that values gender equality and personal freedom. Critics regard a shift away from women's career advancement as regressive and out of step with modern values.

The tension is practical as well as cultural. Women are being asked to contribute economically while still carrying much of the responsibility for care at home. Policies that encourage parenthood must contend with both expectations rather than simply asking women to change their priorities.

China and South Korea Face Related Pressures

Japan's declining birthrate forms part of a wider East Asian challenge. China and South Korea are experiencing similar trends, with young adults facing pressures that make family formation less attractive or harder to afford.

In China, the DINK lifestyle, meaning dual income, no kids, is gaining popularity among young people confronting intense career demands and uncertainty. The phrase "the last generation" has become a viral slogan expressing hopelessness and resistance to social expectations.

Japan and China have both seen government policies shift from restricting births to encouraging them, with limited success. High living costs, persistent gender inequality and insufficient support for nontraditional families continue to weaken efforts to encourage parenthood.

For many young people in both countries, not having children is understood as a form of self-preservation. They are considering what they can manage financially and emotionally, rather than simply following an expectation that adulthood should lead to marriage and children.

Immigration Is Already Part of Japan's Response

Japan's shrinking native population and aging workforce have also strengthened arguments for greater immigration to support the economy and social systems. The government has begun relaxing immigration policies, creating new visa categories and allowing some skilled workers to stay indefinitely.

The number of foreign nationals living in Japan has reached a record high, while public support for immigration reforms is growing. Immigration offers a way to bring more workers into a country where the existing workforce is aging.

Newcomers nevertheless face language barriers, limited social support and difficult routes to permanent residency. Japan's strong sense of ethnic homogeneity and limited laws against discrimination can make full participation in society difficult.

Improved support for immigrants is therefore seen as essential to addressing population decline and sustaining future prosperity. Admitting workers and helping them establish secure lives involve different responsibilities, from language support to fair treatment and a dependable place in the community.

How Attitudes Have Changed Over Time

The surveys trace changes across several decades, although they cover different ages and ask different questions. Together, they describe declining interest in marriage, weaker confidence about the future and falling desire for children.

• Early 1980s: 2.3% of men and 4.1% of women aged 18 to 34 said they had no intention of ever marrying.
• 2021: The National Institute of Population and Social Security survey put those shares at a record 17.3% for men and 14.6% for women.
• 2022 onward: The Mynavi findings showed a decline of more than 10 percentage points in the share of people in their twenties and thirties who considered marriage personally necessary.
• 2023 onward: Desire for children among people in their twenties fell by more than eight percentage points over two consecutive annual declines.
• 2024: The Nippon Foundation found that 15% of Japanese respondents aged 18 expected their country's future to improve and 60% had dreams for their own future.
• April 2025: About 40% of people in their twenties in the Mynavi survey wanted children, alongside 30.8% of unmarried respondents in their thirties.

Japan has introduced more financial support and begun changes in employment and immigration, but whether those steps will reverse declining interest in parenthood is still uncertain. The concerns young adults describe extend from their current paychecks to their confidence in the society a child would grow up in.

Key Points

• About 40% of Japanese people in their twenties wanted children in Mynavi's April 2025 survey, down more than eight percentage points since 2023.
• Childcare costs, insecure earnings and doubts about parenting are central concerns. A separate nationwide survey found that 52% of people aged 15 to 39 did not want children.
• Interest in marriage has declined, while long working hours and unequal caregiving expectations make family life harder to manage.
• Low optimism about Japan's future adds to financial anxiety and uncertainty about making lasting commitments.
• Government responses include broader benefits, childcare spending and matchmaking, alongside calls for changes to wages, working conditions and family support.
• China and South Korea face related demographic pressures, while Japan is also turning toward immigration and confronting challenges in integrating newcomers.