>that 61% of unmarried men aged 18 to 34 have no girlfriend, and half of women the same age have no boyfriend...

Wait, so 61% of men have no girlfriend, but only 50% of women have no boyfriend. Assuming sexual parity is near-even, there's a lot of two-timing going on in Japan it seems. Or maybe these women have foreign boyfriends that don't count as people...

Anyway... it's bound to happen. It's a crowded place, employment is tenuous for many, married life in Japan in particular is notoriously unhappy, and children are expensive. Japan's next generation may have better opportunities with reduced competition. We'll see. Actually our children will see. And by our children I mean other people's children, because so far I have none... hmm...