"Living with Three Wives in One House" Polygamous Japanese Family Gains Attention

A polygamous family living in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan, consisting of 4 wives, 2 girlfriends, and 3 children is drawing attention.

According to AbemaTV on the 22nd, Ryuta Watanabe (35) met 4 wives and 2 girlfriends through an online dating app.

Watanabe and his three wives. [Photo by AbemaTV]

He first met Wife 1 four years ago, and the following year he gained Wife 2 and Wife 3. The group cohabitation started two years ago when he rented a large house with four rooms and currently lives with three wives. Wife 4 lived with them briefly but now lives separately.

They have three children: Wife 1 gave birth to two, and Wife 3 gave birth to one. Although raising children often leads to disputes over childcare, the Watanabe family shares childcare duties through communal parenting and is raising the three children without major difficulties. Mr. Watanabe also actively participates in childcare and housework.

Wife 3, who gave birth this year, stated, "My husband often handles cooking and housework alone and actively participates in childcare."

The Watanabe family's monthly living expenses amount to about 850,000 yen (approximately 7.8 million KRW), including a monthly rent of 250,000 yen. All of this money is borne by the wives and girlfriends. Watanabe has been unemployed for 10 years and lives off the women.

However, the wives are not significantly dissatisfied with this lifestyle. Wife 1 explained, "My husband is a person full of charm that other men do not have, and since I knew from the beginning that he had multiple girlfriends, I had no resistance to group cohabitation."

Family tree of Watanabe living a polygamous life.
[Photo by AbemaTV]

Wife 2 also said, "When I first heard about polygamy, I thought about breaking up, but my husband balances everything well, so we live comfortably."

To avoid conflicts within the household, Watanabe created reasonable rules through consultation. For example, Watanabe sleeps with a different wife every day. Each wife has her own room, and Watanabe goes into each room to sleep one day at a time. When dating, the principle is to go out together so that time is spent fairly.

Like in Korea, Japan does not allow polygamy. Therefore, Watanabe lives in a de facto marital relationship without registering his marriage with his young wives.

According to Japan's AbemaTV, among 193 countries worldwide, polygamy is permitted in 52 countries. Some regions of India, China, Sri Lanka, and the Marquesas Islands in Polynesia still have polygamous cultures.