Japan Trends: Marriage, Gas, Suicide, Remains

A friend sent me a list of Japanese trends and stats that I wanted to pass on. I don't know the source (or sources), so take everything with a grain of salt. Japan regularly shows you something old, something new, something you expect and something you wouldn't. Of course, what seems interesting or odd depends on where you're standing. Leave a comment if you have anything to add.

Price of regular gasoline in Tokyo: $4.00 per gallon

This summer police found the skeletal remains of a man in his apartment in a densely populated part of Tokyo. Newspapers dated 1984 in the room suggest he was dead for 20 years without anyone taking notice.

The rate of teenage girls having abortions doubled in just 5 years between 1995-2000.

Shinjuku is the world?s busiest train station, handling 3 million passengers DAILY. Just a few minutes away is Ikebukuro, the world?s second busiest station.

The population in Japan under age 15 has declined for 23 straight years.

Half of men smoke, 1 in 7 women smoke. Japan has over 600,000 cigarette vending machines.

Japanese are angry after discovering that many politicians who?ve been proposing higher Social Security premiums have themselves not paid into the system for years. One former prime minister didn?t make payments for 9 years. His reason: ?The pension system is too complicated.?

Suicides rose 7% last year to a new record high.

The average lifespan of a new house in Japan is 25-30 years, after which it is torn down.

80% to 90% of single women live with their parents, as do about half of the men in their 20s. Most pay little or no rent and do no housework.

Japanese are postponing marriage or avoiding it altogether. Weddings have dropped for two straight years. 54% of women in their late 20?s are single, and the number of single women in their 30?s has doubled in the past decade. About half of single women ages 35 to 54 have no intention to marry.

Posted by jw at September 10, 2004 05:40 PM