This paper explores the current state of love and marriage for youth from hisabetsu buraku districts within the context of Japan's rising unmarried rate.
    I begin by presenting the problems associated with trying to define those from buraku districts as the premise for my argument. I then describe present-day marriage discrimination against those from buraku districts, contending that the conditions of marriage discrimination changed alongside Japanese society's shift from arranged marriages to love marriages.
    From there, I situate the argument contextually within the growing tendency toward non-marriage in Japan. Results show that the largest source of anxiety regarding marriage for buraku youth is finding a suitable partner, just as it is for other youth throughout the country. However, unease concerning discrimination is found to exist as well. Indeed, in present-day society, where romantic relationships are fostered through repeated dating and the reasons for ending a relationship are practically endless, determining whether or not buraku discrimination is the cause of a given break up has become problematic. I refer to this predicament as “love discrimination.”
    Furthermore, it is just as difficult to identify why buraku youth are unable to marry: Is this a side effect of Japanese society's movement toward non-marriage or the result of discrimination? Perhaps it is better explained by indirect factors like disadvantages in occupation and academic background. Present social circumstances too often place blame on individuals for the inability to marry.
    I conclude with a discussion of solving the problems of love and marriage discrimination within societies tending toward non-marriage.

    For Zainichi-Koreans, ethnic differences have often been cited as the cause of the failure of love and marriage. Comments such as “You should marry a compatriot rather than someone Japanese” and “Marriage with Koreans is not allowed” were often heard. In recent years, however, such discrimination has become less prominent. People who used to use a Japanese name are increasingly living with ethnic names. The result is that newcomers and “oldcomers” cannot be distinguished by the name they use, whether Chinese, Taiwanese, or Korean. As globalization progresses, ethnic differences may be resolved along with many other differences (annual income, region of origin, education, cultural capital, etc.). Are “ethnic differences” really a factor that alienate people from getting married? For ZainichiKoreans of the young generation, do ethnic differences cause any problems with love? Based on the results of interviews, we describe the values of love and marriage in recent years of the younger generation.

    The purpose of this paper is to examine the conditions of a love marriage by conducting an analysis of interviews about unmarried women who worry about whether they will get married to a specific partner, but do not get married. This field considers the desire to get married, the encounters with the prospective partner, whether there is a boyfriend or girlfriend, aspects of communication, equality between married couples, the allotment of domestic duties, and male participation in parental care thus far. When getting married, the twin matters of economic considerations and feelings of love remain unchanged in importance. A third point concerning the male's attitude toward children is also found, asked by unmarried women. This third point also shows that such consciousness is recognized as an attraction connected to the feelings of love. It is not a concern for unmarried women whether men are engaged in parental care. It might be that the male's attitude toward children is asked for the “individualization of role consciousness” before marriage, which may then be one of the deciding factors for marriage among unmarried women.

    The purpose of this study is to examine what kind of norm fujoshi as single women emphasize when they conceal or reveal being a fujoshi to their family. Previous studies point out that women were expected from childhood to fill the roles of mother and wife under modern family norms, and those who were oppressed by these expectations became fujoshi. However, fujoshi today are conscious not of the roles of mother and wife but of children in their family. My data, based on semi-structured interviews, suggested that some women reveal being fujoshi because they take account of emotional relationships in their family. On the other hand, some women conceal being fujoshi and try to retain family norms.