Being born in Japan, in numbers

The public statistics that drive Born in Japan, and how we use them — area by area. Each page says which numbers are real data and which are assumptions.

• Where, and into what family, you are bornHow are your prefecture, generation, family finances and whether you grow up with a single parent decided? We explain using figures from the Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions, such as a child poverty rate of 11.0% and a 44.7% poverty rate for single-parent households.
• Going to school, and dropping outUniversity enrollment varies widely by prefecture, sex, generation and family. Based on MEXT surveys, such as a 1.4% high school dropout rate and 2.04% for universities, we explain how likely you are to go on to school and to drop out.
• Work and wagesWages depend on age, sex, education, regular vs. non-regular employment, industry and company size. Using figures from the 2025 Basic Survey on Wage Structure and the Statistical Survey of Actual Status for Salary in the Private Sector, we explain how wages work in the game.
• Marriage, children and divorceThe average age at first marriage is 31.1 for husbands and 29.7 for wives. Using figures from Vital Statistics, the Census and the National Fertility Survey, we explain the share of people who never marry by 50, how many children couples have, and when divorce happens.
• Housing: rent or buyBuy a home or keep renting? Using public statistics, such as a 3.25% mortgage rate, 1.8% inflation, changes in official land prices and the 47.1% of households that own their land, we explain how housing choices work.
• Savings and investingHouseholds of two or more people hold average savings of ¥20.59 million, with a median of ¥12.64 million (Family Income and Expenditure Survey, 2025). We explain how take-home pay, spending and surplus fit together, and how investing in deposits, stocks, bonds and real estate works.
• Retirement and pensionsRetired elderly couples take home ¥222,000 a month but spend ¥264,000, drawing down about ¥42,000 every month (Family Income and Expenditure Survey, 2025). We explain how pensions, retirement allowances and caregiving work.
• The odds of accidents and crimeAbout 340,000 people are injured in traffic accidents each year, and there were 6.3 reported Penal Code offenses per 1,000 people (2025). Using National Police Agency statistics and the White Paper on Crime, we explain how likely accidents, crime victimization and juvenile delinquency are.
• How long you liveLife expectancy in Japan is 81.09 years for men and 87.13 years for women (2024 Abridged Life Tables). We explain how the game decides lifespan and how it changes with generation, family finances and health.
• Lives off the usual pathChasing a dream as a comedian, musician, artist, actor or idol; dating reality shows, influencers, retaking med school exams, politicians, CEO families, YouTubers, children raised in a religion, immigrants and mixed-heritage kids, yakuza, prison, and drinking mishaps. We explain how often these high-variance lives happen and the statistics behind them.

Prefecture-by-prefecture pages are available in Japanese.