[Decision Time Limit Revealed by Matchmaking Data of 20,000 People] The Rule of '10 Encounters' and '120 Days of Dating'
IBJ Inc. has released the third installment of the '2025 IBJ Marriage Report,' analyzing matchmaking big data from approximately 20,000 individuals. The report indicates that the peak for marriage decisions is '10-12 encounters' and '120 days of dating,' warning that delaying decisions leads to a lower success rate.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 23, 2026 at 20:25
- 🔍 Collected: April 23, 2026 at 12:01
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 23, 2026 at 12:21 (19 min after Collected)
IBJ Inc. (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Kenjiro Tsuchiya), which creates the largest number of successful marriages in Japan*¹, released the third installment of the '2025 IBJ Marriage Report' on April 23, 2026, analyzing the matchmaking big data of approximately 20,000 people. Amidst the deepening issues of declining marriage and birth rates, this report focuses on the 'number of encounters' and 'days of dating'. By visualizing the 'time limit for decision-making' that influences successful marriages, it provides guidelines for those who wish to marry to efficiently reach a successful union.
Summary
- The peak for marriage decision-making is 120 days of dating (about 4 months).
- Beyond 120 days, the success rate declines over time.
- The success rate reaches its peak at 10 to 12 omiai (encounters).
- 'Procrastinating on decisions' and 'excessive comparison' in matchmaking lead to lost opportunities for marriage.
The success rate tends to decline after peaking at 120 days of dating. The golden rule for marriage is 'strike while the iron is hot'.
Dating within a marriage agency reaches a turning point after a certain period, where the relationship either 'progresses significantly' or 'stagnates'. In this report, it was confirmed that if the period from the first encounter to engagement exceeds approximately 120 days (4 months), the probability of reaching marriage tends to decrease. This '120 days' is the peak when the relationship deepens and decisions are made; missing this timing can be considered the 'time limit for decision-making' after which the relationship becomes difficult to advance.
The '10th to 12th' omiai is the turning point. Excessive comparison is a loss of opportunity.
Analyzing the relationship between the number of omiai and the marriage success rate revealed that the success rate peaks at 10 to 12 omiai. Even if the number of omiai increases beyond that, the success rate does not rise significantly.
Before falling into the 'Bluebird Syndrome' of procrastinating decisions thinking 'there might be someone better', making a shift to clarify one's own judgment criteria around the 10th omiai and deciding to deepen the relationship with a partner who meets those criteria is rational and the fastest route to marriage.
What determines marriage is not 'quantity' but 'the quality and timing of decision-making'.
Visualizing the relationship between the 'number of omiai' and 'days of dating' revealed that many successful individuals make decisions at a relatively early stage. Marriages are particularly concentrated in the range of 'within 25 omiai and within 180 days of dating', and among them, there is a tendency to decide 'within 10 to 12 omiai'.
This indicates that in matchmaking, 'the quality and timing of decision-making' rather than 'quantity' is a crucial factor influencing marriage success.
Survey data released weekly
The '2025 IBJ Marriage Report' is scheduled to be released every Thursday for a total of 15 weeks.
Going forward, we will sequentially announce data from perspectives that have not been analyzed before, such as 'the realistic annual income of men' who are easy to marry, and 'are high-earning women avoided?'.
Data citation and reproduction request
The copyright of this data is held by our company. When quoting or reprinting survey data, please be sure to clearly indicate the credit 'IBJ Marriage Future Lab'. We would also appreciate it if you could provide a link to our website.
Data overview and preconditions of this report
- Data preconditions: All data in this report is based on activity records within 'marriage agencies'. Terms such as 'omiai' and 'number of dating' appearing in the article refer to activity processes unique to marriage agencies.
- Survey entity: IBJ Inc. (IBJ Marriage Future Lab)
- Survey target: Activity data of 19,112 members who were active in the IBJ marriage agency network and achieved marriage.
- Target period: January 1 to December 31, 2025 (target period as 2025 version data).
About the IBJ Group
We create the largest number of marriages (=engagements)*¹ in Japan through total support that goes beyond just matching. By combining compassionate support that only humans can provide with IT, we offer unique marriage agency services.
Summary
- The peak for marriage decision-making is 120 days of dating (about 4 months).
- Beyond 120 days, the success rate declines over time.
- The success rate reaches its peak at 10 to 12 omiai (encounters).
- 'Procrastinating on decisions' and 'excessive comparison' in matchmaking lead to lost opportunities for marriage.
The success rate tends to decline after peaking at 120 days of dating. The golden rule for marriage is 'strike while the iron is hot'.
Dating within a marriage agency reaches a turning point after a certain period, where the relationship either 'progresses significantly' or 'stagnates'. In this report, it was confirmed that if the period from the first encounter to engagement exceeds approximately 120 days (4 months), the probability of reaching marriage tends to decrease. This '120 days' is the peak when the relationship deepens and decisions are made; missing this timing can be considered the 'time limit for decision-making' after which the relationship becomes difficult to advance.
The '10th to 12th' omiai is the turning point. Excessive comparison is a loss of opportunity.
Analyzing the relationship between the number of omiai and the marriage success rate revealed that the success rate peaks at 10 to 12 omiai. Even if the number of omiai increases beyond that, the success rate does not rise significantly.
Before falling into the 'Bluebird Syndrome' of procrastinating decisions thinking 'there might be someone better', making a shift to clarify one's own judgment criteria around the 10th omiai and deciding to deepen the relationship with a partner who meets those criteria is rational and the fastest route to marriage.
What determines marriage is not 'quantity' but 'the quality and timing of decision-making'.
Visualizing the relationship between the 'number of omiai' and 'days of dating' revealed that many successful individuals make decisions at a relatively early stage. Marriages are particularly concentrated in the range of 'within 25 omiai and within 180 days of dating', and among them, there is a tendency to decide 'within 10 to 12 omiai'.
This indicates that in matchmaking, 'the quality and timing of decision-making' rather than 'quantity' is a crucial factor influencing marriage success.
Survey data released weekly
The '2025 IBJ Marriage Report' is scheduled to be released every Thursday for a total of 15 weeks.
Going forward, we will sequentially announce data from perspectives that have not been analyzed before, such as 'the realistic annual income of men' who are easy to marry, and 'are high-earning women avoided?'.
Data citation and reproduction request
The copyright of this data is held by our company. When quoting or reprinting survey data, please be sure to clearly indicate the credit 'IBJ Marriage Future Lab'. We would also appreciate it if you could provide a link to our website.
Data overview and preconditions of this report
- Data preconditions: All data in this report is based on activity records within 'marriage agencies'. Terms such as 'omiai' and 'number of dating' appearing in the article refer to activity processes unique to marriage agencies.
- Survey entity: IBJ Inc. (IBJ Marriage Future Lab)
- Survey target: Activity data of 19,112 members who were active in the IBJ marriage agency network and achieved marriage.
- Target period: January 1 to December 31, 2025 (target period as 2025 version data).
About the IBJ Group
We create the largest number of marriages (=engagements)*¹ in Japan through total support that goes beyond just matching. By combining compassionate support that only humans can provide with IT, we offer unique marriage agency services.