Survey Finds 64% of Unmarried Young Women in Japan Don’t Want Children

More than 60% of young women in Japan say they do not want children, according to a 2025 survey conducted by Rohto Pharmaceutical, the highest level since the annual poll began in 2018.

Among women, the share who did not want children rose 11.6 percentage points to 64.7%, the first time it exceeded the proportion among men.

The survey, reported by The Mainichi, highlights how career concerns and financial pressures are discouraging younger people from starting families.

Among 400 unmarried men and women aged 18 to 29 surveyed, 37.4% said they wanted children, while 62.6% said they did not. Among women, the share who did not want children rose 11.6 percentage points to 64.7%, the first time it exceeded the proportion among men.

Financial burdens were cited as a major concern by 63.2% of men and 71.7% of women.

Career disruption was also a key factor, mentioned by 51.2% of men and 61.4% of women.

In a related survey of 800 married people aged 25 to 44 who still want children, 52% of men and 64.1% of women said concerns about career advancement made them anxious about having or raising children.

More than half of the men and nearly two-thirds of the women also said they had considered changing jobs or transferring positions in order to balance work and child-rearing responsibilities.