Successful and Sorry: How high income Japanese women construct themselves in marriage agency ads

Japan is increasingly characterised by late age at marriage and rising rates of singlehood. Women’s growing educational attainment and labour market participation are often argued to be the key reasons behind these trends. In particular, it is frequently assumed that the dominant gender norms which prescribe that women must shoulder most of the burden of domestic work and childcare are a greater barrier to marriage for women with higher earning potential. A number of existing studies analyse the effects of education and earning power on women’s marriage probability. These give us insights into actual marriage trends, but tell us little about the beliefs and attitudes behind these outcomes. This paper will look at the matter from a different angle. I will analyse the ways women with different levels of earning power advertise themselves in the marriage market. Such an analysis will offer a view into women’s beliefs about the characteristics of a desirable wife and how and to which extent working women are willing to balance their employment responsibilities against the expectations of a good wife. To do this I will analyse personal messages female Japanese marriage agency customers use to advertise their most appealing characteristics to potential marriage partners. The messages come from a 2008 customer database of one of the largest Japanese marriage agencies. This seminar took place at Oxford Brookes University on 8 March 2017.