TOKYO (TR) – A recent television broadcast has reignited a fierce debate over the financial demands of women in Japan’s marriage hunting (konkatsu) market, with financial experts warning that women seeking wealthy breadwinners are facing a harsh reality.
In July, a female announcer on Fuji TV’s daytime show “Pokapoka” sparked intense online backlash after declaring, “Marrying a man with an annual income of 20 million yen makes you the happiest.”
Even among ordinary women, demands for partners earning 10 million yen or more remain common, stirring persistent controversy over whether these expectations are a symptom of Tokyo’s inflation or sheer delusion, reports the site for weekly tabloid Shukan Shincho (Sep. 7).
10 million yen
Consider the case of “Hiyori,” a 30-year-old administrative worker at a Tokyo trading firm. Earning roughly 3.5 million yen a year and living rent-free with her parents, Hiyori coasted through her twenties turning heads at matchmaking parties, believing a husband earning over 10 million yen was practically guaranteed.
However, after hitting 30 and watching her friends marry, panic set in. She registered at a matchmaking agency with what she believed was a modest compromise: she requested a “normal” company employee in his 30s earning around 8 million yen, intending to quit her job and raise two children.
The agency quickly shot her down, advising her to either broaden her age range or lower her financial expectations. Refusing to budge, Hiyori insisted on the 8-million-yen threshold—and subsequently found herself unable to secure a single matchmaking interview.
“If I want to raise two children in Tokyo, I think that amount is the bare minimum,” a frustrated Hiyori argued.
Financial Planner Chikako Uehara says women like Hiyori are operating on a completely different planet.
According to 2025 data from recruitment service Doda, the average annual salary for a 30-year-old Japanese man is just 4.72 million yen. Men in their 30s earning 8 million yen or more make up a meager 6 percent of the population. Setting 8 million yen as a baseline, Uehara notes, shows a total blindness to reality.
Trad wife is dead
Furthermore, the era of the wealthy man seeking a traditional stay-at-home wife is dead.
“In the past, high-earning men wanted a full-time housewife to protect the home. But in recent years, even ‘high-spec’ men are strongly demanding that women have their own income and independent careers,” Uehara explained.
Burdened by crushing taxes, heavy housing loans, and social insurance premiums, men are actively avoiding women who intend to be financial dependents. Instead, they are opting for dual-income “power couples.” In today’s marriage market, the desire to be a stay-at-home housewife is a massive disadvantage.
Uehara points to the Japanese tax system as ultimate proof of the dual-income advantage. Under Japan’s progressive taxation, which applies to individuals rather than households, a single husband earning 10 million yen takes home about 7.25 million yen. However, a couple earning 5 million yen each yields a combined net income of 7.76 million yen. That puts an extra 510,000 yen into the household’s pockets annually.
“Average-earning men are everywhere”
Additionally, dual incomes act as the ultimate insurance policy against sudden illness or corporate bankruptcy.
For Tokyo’s struggling single women, the financial expert’s verdict is clear: drop the fantasy of being a kept woman.
“When thinking about a partner’s desired income, it is essential to look at the combined household total,” Uehara advises. “If you continue to earn 3.5 million yen, a partner earning a very average 4.5 to 5 million yen will easily get you to that 8-million-yen goal. And average-earning men are everywhere in the matchmaking market.”
