Looking for a Man Making ¥10M+ in Japan? Good Luck.

Heard the one about dating in Japan? Your 'type' better not be a guy making over ¥10 million a year.

The ¥10 Million Dream

A story popped up the other day about a woman on the marriage hunt, or *konkatsu*, whose sister has one main requirement: the guy's got to earn over 10 million yen a year.

I mean, we’ve all heard it, right? It’s the magic number. The benchmark for having "made it" in Japan. It conjures images of a high-rise in Minato-ku and taking taxis everywhere instead of sprinting for the last train. It's the modern Japanese fairy tale.

Let's Do The Math

So, how many of these Prince Charmings are actually out there? According to Japan's National Tax Agency, only 9.7% of all male employees in the country make over ¥10 million. Let that sink in.

That's not 9.7% of single guys on your dating app. That’s 9.7% of *all* of them. That includes your 58-year-old *bucho* with three kids in college and that one department head who's been at the company since the fax machine was considered high-tech.

If you narrow it down to single men in their 20s and 30s—the actual dating pool for most people—that number shrinks to a tiny fraction. The average salary for a guy in his late 20s is about ¥4.4 million. For his early 30s? ¥5.1 million. The odds are not, as they say, in your favor. 😅

And Then The Taxman Cometh

Okay, but let's say you find one. A unicorn. You hit the jackpot and you're planning the wedding. Is it smooth sailing from here? Well.

This is Japan, so we have to talk about taxes. A ¥10 million salary doesn't mean ¥10 million in the bank. After income tax, residence tax, and social insurance take their hefty cut, the actual take-home pay is closer to ¥7.0 - ¥7.6 million a year.

That's still a very comfortable life, for sure. But it's not quite "I'm quitting my job to become a ceramics artist" money, especially if you want to live in Tokyo. It's more like "we can afford the slightly nicer brand of tofu" money.

The original article suggested maybe it's better to find someone with good future prospects, or someone you can team up with to hit a household income of ¥10 million. Which, you know, sounds a lot like a normal relationship.