A 27-Year-Old Japanese Man Remarries a Mother of Three
Eleven Family Members Under One Roof, Including Wife, Children, and Grandchildren
"Coming Home to My Family Is My Greatest Happiness"
The story of a 27-year-old Japanese man leading a large family of 11 members with his wife, who is 12 years older than him, has attracted attention.
On August 22 (local time), the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported the story of a large Japanese family featured in the recent documentary "Cheer Up, Ordinary People."
A 27-year-old Japanese man made headlines by marrying a wife 12 years his senior and forming a large family of 11 members. The photo shows the husband Masashi (fourth from the left), the wife Rika (center), and their children. Photo by SCMP
According to the report, Masashi, a 27-year-old Japanese man, first met Rika, then a 39-year-old mother of three, when he was 16 and working at a gas station. Masashi was drawn to Rika's strong personality when she firmly scolded her children, who were fighting in the back seat of their car at the station. He asked for her contact information and, after years of pursuing her, eventually married her. After their marriage, they had a son, who is now 8 years old.
Before marrying Masashi, Rika had three children: her eldest daughter Yurina, 21; her eldest son Kato, 17; and her youngest daughter, who is 12. Yurina, the eldest daughter, is a single mother who had her first child at 16 and now has two children. Kato, the eldest son, is also already a father of two. Kato's girlfriend, who is the same age as him, also lives with Masashi's family. In this way, Masashi now supports a household of 11 people, including himself, his wife, their son, three stepchildren, a daughter-in-law, and four grandchildren.
Currently, Masashi works as a truck driver, earning 250,000 yen (about 1.75 million won) per month. His wife Rika works part-time at a motorcycle shop, earning 80,000 yen (about 750,000 won) per month. In addition, the family receives 45,000 yen (about 420,000 won) per month in government child-rearing support, but it is still a tight budget for such a large family. Despite the difficult circumstances, Masashi expressed his strong affection for his family, saying, "After a long day, I love coming home to my family."
This story has spread rapidly on local social networking services (SNS), drawing significant attention. The documentary video featuring the family has recorded over one million views. Online commenters have left messages of support such as, "An amazing family," "It must be tough financially, but they are a wonderful family," and "I hope the children grow up healthy."
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