Existing studies on marriage have highlighted the importance of paying attention to local characteristics, but few Japanese studies have been conducted on marriage, taking regional differences into account. This article examines the factors that influence marriage using data from localities across Japan with an eye toward identifying regional differences, and analyzes the effects of marriage promotion policies in depopulated localities. The results of a basic analysis and regression analysis reveal the following. First, the ever-married ratios among men and women vary significantly depending on the level of urbanization where they live, but the male employment rate has a positive correlation with male marriage while the male-female ratio has a negative correlation with male marriage and a positive correlation with female marriage. Second, the results confirmed that prefectural differences in marriage cannot be explained by factors such as the level of urbanization, the male-female ratio, or employment conditions. However, this study was not able to identify the factors that explain these findings. Third, the results revealed that marriage promotion policies in depopulated localities have a greater effect on the marriage of females than of males.
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