The Highest Rate of Marriages Met Through Apps Last Year
Popular Among MZ Generation Familiar with Work-Life Separation and Digital Culture
In Japan, the number of marriages resulting from meeting complete strangers through smartphone applications (apps), known as 'app marriage (app-kon)', has been significantly increasing. Unlike in the past when marriage rates were higher among close acquaintances such as company seniors and juniors or classmates, this trend is attributed to the popularity of non-face-to-face matchmaking during the COVID-19 pandemic and a preference for condition-based meetings through matching apps.
On the 21st, Asahi Shimbun reported that in a public opinion survey conducted last year by the insurance company Meiji Yasuda Life among 1,620 married people nationwide aged 20 to 70, 22.6% answered that they got married through a 'matching app,' ranking first. The percentage of those who responded 'colleagues or seniors/juniors at work' was 20.8%, and the same percentage, 20.8%, answered 'classmates or seniors/juniors at school.' This shows a tendency to prefer meeting completely unknown people through apps rather than acquaintances. In fact, the proportion of people who said that a relationship started on an app led to marriage was 2.4% from 2010 to 2014, 6.6% from 2015 to 2019, but jumped significantly to 17.9% in 2020.
In Japan, women considering marriage typically start marriage activities in their late 20s, and men in their early 30s, similar to job hunting. They register with marriage information agencies, go on arranged meetings, or even attend parties exclusively for people who want to get married. This activity, also called 'konkatsu' (marriage hunting), requires a lot of time and money, but the recently popular matching apps can reduce these processes. Asahi also analyzed that the increase in app usage is due to the rise in remote work during COVID-19, which limits opportunities to meet or talk in person.
People using matching apps for konkatsu claim that it is advantageous because they can input conditions such as preferred height, education, and annual income of their ideal partner into the app, allowing them to meet someone close to their ideal type. A male office worker in his 30s from Tokyo who successfully married through a matching app said, “I thought it was efficient because I paid a monthly fee of about 40,000 to 50,000 Korean won and could meet people who matched my criteria,” adding, “When I was looking for a marriage partner, I used 4 to 5 apps simultaneously.”
The social culture of the younger generation, which values separation of work and life, also played a role. A woman in her 20s living in Osaka who got married through a matching app last year told Asahi Shimbun, “If I tried to find a marriage partner at work, I would have to bring romance into the workplace, which I didn’t want. But since I was only working, I had no chance to meet anyone outside the company, so I used the app.”
However, Asahi reported that misuse cases continue to occur because the apps are based on anonymity. There have been reports of married people pretending to be single on matching apps and cases of financial extortion. According to the Japan Consumer Affairs Center, the number of consultations about financial extortion through matching apps increased from 25 cases in 2019 to 109 in 2020, and 187 in 2021.
Negative views about meeting through apps still persist. However, experts see this as a natural phenomenon reflecting changes in the times. Associate Professor Yuichiro Sakai of Otsuma Women’s University told Asahi, “The concept of a proper meeting has changed over time. The shift of meeting places to the digital realm in the online era is an irreversible phenomenon. It can be a means not only for meeting but also for creating various forms of families free from fixed stereotypes.”
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