Singlehood in ‘precarious Japan’: examining new gender tropes and inter-gender communication in a culture of uncertainty

Abstract

Romantic partnership formation by itself has remained intact in most postindustrial societies despite declining marriage rates. However, among contemporary Japanese people of childbearing age, the never-married singlehood rate is ever-increasing amidst a dearth of alternative forms of partnership, a consistently high demand for marriage, and a thriving ‘marriage hunting’ (konkatsu) market. At the core of this puzzle is a prevalence of virginity and significantly decreased inter-gender interaction among the singles as a whole. Based upon qualitative research conducted at multiple ‘marriage hunting’ venues within the Tokyo metropolis, this article analyses contemporary Japanese singlehood within the framework of the ‘culture of uncertainty’, which scholars have argued characterizes post-bubble ‘precarious Japan’. It can be argued that the current absence of past institutions that mediated interpersonal connections has left the recent generation who came of age during the two ‘lost decades’ deprived of relevant gender scripts as well as appropriate gendered expectations. Specifically, this article examines how newly emergent non-normative gender tropes, such as the ‘herbivore-type man’, are regarded with ambivalence by both men and women, as well as how traditional gender norms persist within the singles’ psyche despite their increasing social irrelevance.