Japanese Woman Wants a Man Earning 8 Million Yen and Is Told to Lower Her Expectations

The idea of finding a partner with a high income to guarantee a comfortable life comes up frequently in discussions about marriage in Japan.

But is expecting a man with a 10 million yen salary — or, more realistically, 10 million yen a year — actually a reasonable expectation? A recent case in Japan caught attention because of the demands made by a Japanese woman in her 30s.

30-Year-Old Woman Wants a Man Earning 8 Million Yen and Is Told to Lower Her Expectations

The story involves a 30-year-old woman identified by the pseudonym Hiyori, who works for a trading company in Tokyo and earns around 3.5 million yen a year (about 115,000 reais).

Living with her parents, she was able to set aside part of her income for her appearance, clothes, and makeup. During her early 20s, she received plenty of attention on dates and dating apps.

Because of that, Hiyori believed (back when she was in her 20s) that she could still find a man earning more than 10 million yen a year (around 330,000 reais).

The problem came when she turned 30.

While several of her friends started getting married, she decided to join an agency specializing in konkatsu, the Japanese term for actively looking for a partner with marriage in mind.

During her initial interview, Hiyori said:

“I’m already 30, so I don’t want to ask for too much. I want a man around my age, an ordinary company employee, earning around 8 million yen.”

To her, that was a pretty modest requirement. And she had already lowered her expectations quite a bit. When she was in her 20s, she wanted a guy earning 10 million yen. Now that she’s 30, she lowered it to 8 million.

Simple, right?

The agency, however, saw things differently.

The employee explained that men in their early 30s earning 8 million yen or more were relatively rare and suggested widening either the salary range or the age range of potential matches.

Hiyori refused to change her criteria.

And the result was predictable: the dates simply weren’t happening as often as she expected.

“I Want Two Children and to Stay Home”

Hiyori also had a very specific plan for her future.

She wanted to have around two children, preferably relatively early, and devote herself to raising them.

In her view, raising two children in Tokyo would require a high household income.

And this is where the story gets really interesting. Because the issue isn’t simply wanting a comfortable life. The question is who needs to earn all that money.

Why Is It So Difficult to Find a Man Earning 8 Million Yen?

According to financial expert Chikako Uehara, who was interviewed about the case, it’s understandable for a woman living in the Tokyo metropolitan area to think about having a high income.

The region has extremely high costs, especially when housing and children’s education are factored in.

But there is a huge difference between wanting a household income of 10 million yen and demanding that one person alone earn 10 million yen.

Data cited by the report shows that Japanese men in their 30s had an average annual income of approximately 4.72 million yen, while women of the same age earned around 3.87 million yen.

In other words, asking for 8 million yen doesn’t simply mean looking for an “ordinary man.”

It is a demand significantly above the average.

And that dramatically reduces the number of available candidates.

The Detail That Completely Changes the Math

There’s another problem.

Hiyori imagined that a high-income man could support the entire family on his own while she quit working to raise the children.

However, the profile of many high-income men has also changed.

According to Uehara, high-earning professionals have increasingly started valuing partners who continue working and have financial independence.

Two 5 Million Yen Salaries Can Be Better Than One 10 Million Yen Salary

In Japan, just as in many other countries, the tax system considers individual income for certain calculations. Because of this, a family where only one person earns 10 million yen doesn’t necessarily end up with the same take-home income as a family where each partner earns 5 million yen.

In the simulation presented by the expert:

• One person earning 10 million yen would take home around 7.25 million yen;
• Two people earning 5 million yen each would have approximately 7.76 million yen in combined take-home income;
• The difference would be around 510,000 yen per year.

That works out to approximately 42,500 yen per month.

In other words, looking strictly at the money that actually reaches the household, two average salaries can be more efficient than concentrating all the income in one person.

Let’s take a look at some reactions to the news?

• Men are also looking for ordinary women…
• Marriage has to start with romance, otherwise it won’t work.
  A woman who starts the conversation by asking about your salary simply isn’t going to get married.
• Do you really think a guy in his early 30s who manages to earn 8 million yen a year is going to want an average woman in her 30s who only earns 3.6 million?
• If she works too, you’d think she would know just how high 8 million yen is on the salary scale for someone around 30.
• A salary in the 8 million yen range exists at only around 350 of Tokyo’s 280,000 companies. So based on what exactly does she call it “normal”?
• Men shouldn’t get involved with older women once they’re past 30.
• It’s better not to keep saying that you had tons of opportunities and were popular in your early 20s. People hear that, realize what’s happening, and it ends up working against you…
• The common thread among these women who struggle in the marriage market is that they unquestionably believe they are the ones in the position to choose.
• When it comes to marriage, women are being way too stupid. It’s time to say it clearly.

via Yahoo News