Marriage in Crisis? The Development of Virtual Relationships in Japan

In Japan, the number of unmarried people or people with no partner has been rapidly increasing. This indicates an overall waning interest in romantic relationships and sexual activity.

Japanese society faces not only a “marriage crisis” but also a “relationship crisis”. It is estimated that there are over 10 million adults without a spouse or a partner; many of these continue to live with their parents late into their working lives, often termed ‘Parasite Singles’. How are these people’s feelings of intimacy and relationship satisfied? Increasingly, people are taking to their parents, their friends, or pets to fulfil these needs.

But what about romantic feelings? In Japan, there are many kinds of virtual relationships that may meet the romantic needs of singletons. According to a survey conducted by the Cabinet Office (2010), 30.2% of women and 14.6% of men without partners responded affirmatively to the question “Have you ever fallen in love with a character in an anime or a game?” The development of the virtual romance industry in Japan reflects the existence of a growing number of people who have no “real” partner.

In this talk, Professor Masahiro Yamada and Professor Adrian Favell will discuss the rise of unmarried adults, and how these relationship crises have led to the development of virtual relationships in Japan.

A video of the talk can be found here:

For Japan’s ‘stranded singles’, virtual love beats the real thing – the Guardian, 20 November 2016

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