Japanese women too busy to fall in love, survey says

TOKYO, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- Some 60 percent of eligible women in Japan are reluctant to start a love relationship due to the growing burden at work, The Japan Times reported Saturday citing a survey at cocoloni.jp, an online dating advice service.

As women today are facing the same workload as men in Japan, the ensuing fatigue has made women more willing to lounge on a sofa and watch soap operas after work instead of going to dates, said the report.

Office love is no longer alluring and blind dates are even regarded as stressful and tedious which seldom bring satisfying results. One in four women admit having fallen asleep on a date due to tiredness caused by work, according to the survey.

Another online dating site Lovely Media says a growing number of women are quitting random dates because they think it's a "waste of time." Instead, they make pregnancy their ultimate goal, thus turning to matchmaking routes for seeking an ideal husband.

Back in the 1980s, over 60 percent of young people in their 20s in Japan were in a relationship, while today this group is in the minority, The Japan Times said.

"Shorter working hours, guaranteed maternity and paternity leaves, and a less forbidding atmosphere will go a long way in getting women to think about love," it concluded. Enditem