Japan’s ‘parasite singles’ hold out for rich partners

A woman checking a list of participants during a matchmaking party. - AFP

A sharply dressed crowd of Japanese singletons shuffle awkwardly around tables in a conference room, exchanging small-talk and CVs in an attempt to find a marriage partner – all of them accompanied by their parents.

One 38-year-old woman, who declined to give her name, said she “didn’t have the courage” to find a spouse and move away from her mother, who had come with her to the matchmaking party.