After 11 Years of Dating Apps, Japanese Woman Lowers Standards—But Won't Budge on One Thing
After 11 years and over 300 dates, a 35-year-old Japanese woman lowered her income requirement for potential partners but refuses to compromise on age, insisting suitors earn at least 8 million yen annually to support her goal of becoming a
A 35-year-old Japanese office worker named Asuka has been on over 300 dates across 11 years using dating apps, but hasn't found the right person. Despite her efforts, she's decided to lower her standards—just a little. Asuka earns around 3 million yen annually (approximately 600,000 baht). She admits that she was previously unwilling to consider men who weren't both handsome and earning at least 10 million yen (roughly 2 million baht) per year. However, such high standards have prevented her from finding compatible matches despite meeting over 300 men. She has now reduced her income requirement to 8 million yen (about 1.6 million baht) to give regular office workers and ordinary men a better chance. Still, even after lowering her criteria, she struggles to feel a connection with the men she meets. Asuka acknowledges that reducing her standards makes her feel like she's compromising too much. She insists on the 8 million yen minimum income requirement because she wants to become a full-time homemaker after marriage and is concerned that insufficient income could affect basic living standards and daily expenses. "Am I compromising too much? I've tried so hard and endured so much, and I think I'm doing well with lowering my standards," she says. Regarding age and appearance, Asuka remains strict, wanting a partner no more than 2-3 years younger than her. She argues that age is unchangeable and cannot be compromised on. Survey results indicate that excessively high standards negatively impact matchmaking prospects. If women under 35 relax conditions in even one area—such as age, income, education, or height—their chances of successful matchmaking could increase threefold. Mitsuyo Michima, a representative from a matchmaking company, notes that when one party has too many conditions, the other party naturally becomes equally selective. She emphasizes that marriage isn't a one-sided choice but requires mutual agreement from both parties.
