Society A quarter of young married couples used dating apps

The lack of opportunities to meet people in-person was the biggest hurdle for marriage for both married and unmarried respondents, which may explain the rise in popularity of dating apps. Indeed, almost 57% of married respondents said they have used a dating app before compared with only around 27% of unmarried respondents. A different survey by the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry conducted earlier this year also found similar results, with almost 78.7% of singles between the ages of 18 and 34 saying they do eventually want to get married. About 42.7% of respondents said they view an absence of opportunities to find a potential partner as the biggest obstacle to marriage. The survey's results show that the downtrend in marriages — with 3.9 marriages per 1,000 people in 2023 compared with 10.4 marriages per 1,000 people in 1972 — is not necessarily due to an aversion to tying the knot.

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