With glittering disco balls rotating overhead, throngs of partiers danced to the high-energy pulsating beat, including a woman clad in a sleeveless dress with a revealing back and fishnet stockings as well as a man sporting a black hat and red scarf.

A singles party in a disco in Tokyo’s Roppongi district, a popular destination for nightlife revelers, felt like a throwback to the 1980s, at the height of Japan’s bubble economy, when clubbing was all the rage.

However, in the recent gathering in Maharaja Roppongi, the approximate 100 attendees were not young, but in their 50s and 60s.

“It is so exhausting for someone like me to dance who is going through male menopause,” said one of the attendees in a corner after coming off the dance floor, wiping the sweat from his body with a towel.

The party for older singles, held April 29, was organized by IBJ Inc., a major player in the matchmaking service industry.

IBJ selected disco as the icebreaker at the venue to make it easier for them to mingle, sharing nostalgia for dancing to the music they grooved to during their youths.

NOT ALL LOOKING FOR MARRIAGE

In the event, 17 tables were situated and the attendees introduced themselves at a table each was assigned to.

After chatting for some time, on the MC’s signal, the singles at each table changed places so that they got to meet other attendees. 

Boogie time came between the meet-up sessions.

While the gathering is intended to find a marriage partner, marriage was not the ultimate goal for some women who showed up in their dancing shoes. 

“I signed up for this party because I wanted to go back in time,” a divorcee in her 60s, said excitedly.

She said she relishes being on her own.

“But it would be nice to have a partner whom I can meet when I want to, like in a romantic relationship between adults,” she said.

The woman said she used to place much importance on a man’s looks when she was younger, but not anymore.

“I like a man who will accept me as a full-fledged person,” adding that she does not necessarily believe that a relationship must result in marriage.

Another woman, who is in her 50s, said she joined the event casually, in the hopes of making new friends.

The woman said she, too, used to focus on a man’s appearance. 

She still cares about a man’s facial features – but as a reflection of his character and values.

“Even if he does not have money, that's fine with me,” she said. “I like somebody who looks decent and will likely do the right thing.”

Men appeared more serious about finding a companion willing to make a full commitment, driven by the fear of dying alone.

“I am looking for a woman who will take care of me as I age and lose the ability to move around,” said a man in his 60s who has never married, describing himself as being on track to die without anyone by his side.

He added that he knows he is expecting too much, but he wants his partner to be at his deathbed.

Another man, who is in his 50s and twice divorced, echoed the similar fear of a lonely death.

“I will end up dying alone in my home if I remain single,” he said. “Such a life is a pathetic one.”

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to a surge in older singles seeking to find a partner, according to Yukina Takada, an IBJ employee who organized the event at the disco.

“An increasing number of seniors have begun looking for partners as they have grown anxious about remaining alone after the pandemic struck,” she said.

IBJ plans on another singles party at a disco, possibly in July, as many attendees requested a repeat event. People aged 50 through up to 79 can apply.

OLDER SINGLES NOW ON THE PROWL

The market for matchmaking services for seniors is thriving.

Akanekai, a Tokyo-based operator of matchmaking service for middle-aged and older adults with a history of more than 65 years in the business, has a membership of around 4,000.

More than half are singles in their 50s and 60s.

Akanekai organizes a wide range of what it calls “club activities” for members looking for partners with shared interests.

Golf outings, karaoke, a tour of the Diet building, a factory inspection, zazen meditation and an indigo dyeing workshop are among the popular activities.

Kentaro Kawakami, a representative officer of the operator, Nihon Kenko Kanri, said most of its members were in their 30s and 40s when Akanekai was incorporated in 1981.

But the average age of the members became higher as the graying of Japanese society progressed over time and saw an increase in joiners aged 70 to 79 in recent years.

Kawakami said Akanekai’s membership steadily expanded due to shifting social norms and expectations, shown by a surge in divorces and delaying marriage to later in life.

The stigma associated with elderly singles looking for a second or third chance at love and marriage has lessened as a result.

He also said a rise in the number of working women who are financially independent boosted the membership.

Akanekai’s members come from all walks of life—divorced or widowed, rich or struggling, with children or not, full-time caregiver or not.

These singles continue their search for a partner at a pace of their choosing and are not in a rush to tie the knot, different from the younger generations, he added.

Kawakami also noted that people in their mid-50s and 60s, the generation that experienced the economic bubble, feel comfortable in a group dating setting.

In contrast, those who are in their early 50s, the age group that had had difficulty landing a job due to the bursting of the bubble, generally prefer a one-on-one meetup.

POOL OF SENIORS A LUCRATIVE MARKET

The going rate for registering for a matchmaking service is in the hundreds of thousands of yen.

Akanekai's initial membership charge is 66,000 yen ($458) and the monthly fee is 3,300 yen.

Members do not need to pay extra for terminating their membership when they find a marriage partner there, although an additional payment is usually a routine practice in the industry.

Such an arrangement is one reason that some remain an Akanekai member for a long period to attend as many gatherings as they desire, according to the operator.

The matchmaking market for older singles has attracted new entrants due to the growth potential.

R50Time, a dating app for seniors launched in January 2023, saw subscriptions grow more than 10-fold over the most recent one-year period.

More than 300 couples are made each day via the app, according to the R50Time operator. 

People in their 50s accounted for 51 percent of the subscribers while the figure for those in their 60s stood at 31 percent.

An R50Time official predicted that more dating apps will join the market, given that seniors are less resistant to online platforms to find a partner today since their launch about 10 years ago.

The pool of older adults is only growing, particularly those without a spouse.

As of October 2024, the population of people in their 50s, which includes children of baby boomers, numbered 18.28 million, more than any other age group, according to an estimate by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

Those in their 50s, combined with those in their 60s, total 33.18 million, or 26.8 percent of Japan’s overall population and almost equal to the sum of people aged 20-44.

An estimate for the 2020 census showed that the number of singles ages 50 to 69, came to 9.34 million, 29 percent of the total of this age bracket, and double from the number in 1990.

Of these, people who have never been married stood at 5.02 million, 3 million are divorced and 1.32 million are widowed.

Over the past 30 years, the population of those widowed halved while that of those married remained almost unchanged.

But the number of unmarried people grew 5.2 times and divorces 3.1 times over the same period.

(This article was written by Akihito Ogawa and Suzuka Tominaga.)