fuse comments

200,000 yen per month is definitely too low for a family. But as a woman, I think a woman who prioritizes family could make it work. I wouldn't recommend both parents working full time until kids are older, as kids need attention and care, but until then...

I would say that a wife willing to work just to the dependent tax-free line and get benefits adding 125,000 yen monthly to the household while working 2 or 3 days a week could boost the family income enough that a frugal family with 1 or 2 kids could get by...if the woman is willing to live without brand name things and lush experiences, and maybe in a 2LDK flat (bought or rented). There are places tofor 60-80,000 yen per month, good public transit in Japan, etc, but she has to want a family more than fancy material things. I think that is the problem.

And considering the average salary in Japan is more like 325,000 yen per month after taxes, thinking about the non-yowamono...

325+125 = 450,000 yen per month for a household, which is very doable for a family in Japan, and was about me and my ex husband's situation (we divorced for reasons unrelated to finance). Our mortgage on a 3LDK was 65,000 yen per month, he bought his car outright so no loan, and I took mass transit. We cooked a lot, etc. We lived fine on that salary, and would have been able for afford kids fine, as we were able to save 10-20% of our salaries each month (If you find it odd I didn't have kids and I divorced, I'm now happily married to someone in my home country and have a son. It's actually harder financially to have kids here, and I will be working more hours than I would like to for us to afford just this one child. In Japan, it is still easy to afford children imo, just Japanese women do not have realistic standards for living.)