Only ten years ago, Japanese woman who failed to marry by the age of 25 were warned not to become “Christmas cakes” left unsold on the shelf past their expiry date(保质期)。
But millions of them are now against their elders’ advice----and getting away with it. Japan today is a paradise for single woman.
Nearly half of Japanese woman are still single at the age of 29. Growing numbers are putting off marriage until 35 or older. Japan now has a far higher percentage of single women aged between 20 and 40 than the United States--- higher than almost anywhere in the world except Scandinavia.
The better-educated and better paid a Japanese man, the more likely he is to marry. But the better-educated and more successful a Japanese woman, the more likely she is to decide that marriage and child bringing-up are bad deals.
Japan is facing a sharp drop in its population, and putting off marriages means fewer babies.
Still, there is glaring values gap between Japanese men and woman.
Woman say that most Japanese men still want a young bride who will defer to them, have dinner and a hot bath waiting when they get home, and do all of the housework---- even if she works. Men complain that women expect them to earn a lot of money, come home at a reasonable hour and do half the housework. Those are impossible demands when companies are asking more of a smaller work force.
During the 1980s, woman got choosier but remained more sensible than romantic in picking a mate. They still defined a good catch as man with “three highs”: higher education, high income and figure.
Now young woman who can support themselves have added even tougher criteria for Mr Right. The new criteria are the “three Cs” : financially comfortable, emotionally communicative and co-operative in housework and child care.

Only ten years ago, Japanese woman who failed to marry by the age of 25 were warned not to become “Christmas cakes” left unsold on the shelf past their expiry date(保质期)。
But millions of them are now against their elders’ advice----and getting away with it. Japan today is a paradise for single woman.
仅在十年前，日本女子如果到了25岁尚未结婚，就会有人提醒她，不要成为过了保持期尚放在货架上未被售出的“圣诞节蛋糕”。
但如今，数以百万计的日本女子反对老年人的劝告，并正成功地弃之不理。今日的日本乃是单身女子之天堂。
Nearly half of Japanese woman are still single at the age of 29. Growing numbers are putting off marriage until 35 or older. Japan now has a far higher percentage of single women aged between 20 and 40 than the United States--- higher than almost anywhere in the world except Scandinavia.
The better-educated and better paid a Japanese man, the more likely he is to marry. But the better-educated and more successful a Japanese woman, the more likely she is to decide that marriage and child bringing-up are bad deals.
近半数的日本女子到了29岁仍是单身。越来越多的日本女子将结婚年龄推迟到35岁或者35以后。日本现在年龄在20至40岁的单身女子的比例比美国还要高得多，比世界上除了斯堪的纳维亚外的任何地区都要高。日本男人受教育的程度越高、工资待遇越好，他就越可能结婚。但一个女人受的教育越好、取得地成功越大，她就越发断定结婚与生育孩子是“赔本的买卖”。
Japan is facing a sharp drop in its population, and putting off marriages means fewer babies.
Still, there is glaring values gap between Japanese men and woman.
Woman say that most Japanese men still want a young bride who will defer to them, have dinner and a hot bath waiting when they get home, and do all of the housework---- even if she works. Men complain that women expect them to earn a lot of money, come home at a reasonable hour and do half the housework. Those are impossible demands when companies are asking more of a smaller work force.
日本正面临着人口严重的下降，且推迟结婚就意味着孩子更少。另外，日本男人与女人的价值观念存在显著差异。
日本女人说，大部分男人仍希望娶到一个对他产百依百顺的新娘，希望回家时有准备好的晚餐与热水澡等着他们，希望女人做全部家务，那怕女人也在工作。男人抱怨说，女人希望他们难挣更多的钱，能在适当的时候回家，并做一半的家务。当公司要求越来越少的劳动力的时候，这些都是些不可能做到的要求。
During the 1980s, woman got choosier but remained more sensible than romantic in picking a mate. They still defined a good catch as man with “three highs”: higher education, high income and figure.
Now young woman who can support themselves have added even tougher criteria for Mr Right. The new criteria are the “three Cs” : financially comfortable, emotionally communicative and co-operative in housework and child care.
在上世纪八十年代，虽然变得更挑剔了，但择偶时仍然理智多于浪漫。她们那时仍按“三高”标准来定义理想的择偶对象：高学历、高收入、高身材。
现在能供养自己的日本女人给“佳婿”增加了更严格的标准。这个新标准就是“三要”：经济上要富裕、情感上要善于勾通、家务及儿童保育上要乐于合作。

说明：原文中的“three Cs”是根据英语首字母来的，可在中文中直接译为三C,就显得让人不能理解，故根本文章的意思进行意译。