Abstract: With the rapid development of Japanese economy and the increasing awareness of women, contemporary Japanese womens concept of marriage shows different characteristics from the past. More and more women get married late or even stay single, and extramarital affairs seem to be getting worse. In addition, the number of women in the workplace is increasing, and the conflict between family and career further aggragrates the trend of late marriage and nonmarriage. These phenomena are inextricably linked to the level of social and economic development and the historical and cultural traditions of Japan. They also reflect the changes in marriage concepts caused by Japanese womens selfawareness and increased sense of independence and the fact that peoples demand for the initial groups “family” function is increasingly focused on meeting highlevel emotional needs. In recent years, the three most popular Japanese film and television dramas “No Marriage”, “Day Yan”, and “Flower Core” reflect the current situation of contemporary Japanese womens marriage.

Key words: Japanese women, concept of marriage, selfawareness, basic needs theory