In fact, this is not the first time that Japanese government officials have proposed a bachelor tax. In 2004, a member of the Liberal Democratic Party suggested taxing single people to promote marriage, but the proposal ended up with nothing definite.
事实上，这并非日本政府官员第一次提出征收“单身税”（Bachelor Tax），早在2004年，日本自民党就曾经提出过向单身人士征税的议案，意图促进单身男女尽快结婚，不过最后还是不了了之。

为何日本政府对单身如此不友好？

2010年，日本NHK电视台播出的纪录片《“无缘社会”——32000人无缘死的冲击》给出了其中的答案。

NHK's documentary highlights the dilemma facing Japan's economy due to the number of childless couples and an aging population. In Japanese society, more and more young people choose to live alone. These young people not only have no life partners, but also reject the idea of engaging in normal social life.
这部在日本社会引起热议的纪录片讲述了日本陷入少子、高龄化带来的经济发展困境。目前的日本社会里越来越多的年青人选择独身生活，他们不仅没有伴侣，且无法融入正常的社交生活。

With a higher unemployment rate and lower pensions, these young people are facing the threat of dying alone.
面临高失率和养老金不足的威胁，这些年轻人对“无缘死”——一个人孤独地死去而没有任何亲友发现的恐惧加深。

According to NHK's report, every year 32,000 Japanese people die alone. Japan's "Choose the Future Committee" estimates that if this situation continues, within 100 years the Japanese population will be less than half of what it is today.
根据NHK报道，日本每年都有32000人“无缘死”，如果这种情况继续恶化，那么根据日本“选择未来委员会”的测算，100年后日本人口将只剩下现在的一半不到了。

在日本，单身与否与国家的经济有着密切联系。日本首相安倍晋三为振兴日本经济提出的“三支箭”经济发展目标中，将与国民结婚、生育息息相关的“构筑梦想的育儿支援”作为其第二支箭，国民婚育率与国家经济发展挂钩。

Is "being single" a factor that effects the economy? For Japan, the answer may be yes. But there is another voice saying that the increasing single group stimulates the development of emerging industries like the Internet, entertainment, film and television. The term "single economy" was created due to this phenomena.
单身真的会影响经济发展吗？对于日本来说，答案也许是肯定的。但也有另一种声音认为，单身的增多刺激了互联网、娱乐、影视以及其他新兴产业的出现和发展，“单身经济”一词应运而生。

Alibaba released a report on "Empty Nester Youth in China" on May 3. The report shows that China has more than 50 million single "empty nester" young people.
5月3日，阿里巴巴发布了《中国空巢青年图鉴》，数据显示我国的单身空巢青年人数已经超过5000万。

This group consists of singles from 20 to 39 years old. They enjoy shopping online, eating take-away food and ordering on-site services. They watch movies and travel alone.
这群20到39岁之间的空巢青年，喜欢网购，经常点外卖、线上预约服务。他们一个人看电影、一个人旅行。

"The singles usually have more disposable income and tend to focus more on self spending." According to the report "Marketing the single consumers - China 2017", released by British market consulting firm Mintel, 61% of the single consumers are interested in movies and TV shows, followed by travel (56%) and fitness (48%).
“单身人士通常拥有更多的可支配收入，倾向于关注自我和把钱花在自己身上。” 英国市场咨询公司英敏特最新报告《针对单身消费者的营销——中国2017》显示，六成（61%）单身消费者最感兴趣的领域是电影、电视剧，其次是旅行（56%）和运动健身（48%）。

"16% of China’s urban population now lives alone, according to the Boston Consulting Group. The trend has been accompanied by a profound change in people’s perceptions of remaining single: the concept is no longer stigmatized, singles “dine, travel and pursue activities by themselves".
波士顿集团也在其报告中说：“如今中国16%的城市人口独自一人生活。这种趋势还伴随着人们对于保持单身的观念的巨大改变，单身观念不再受鄙夷。这也意味着单身人士会‘自己就餐、自己旅游、自己从事各种活动’”。

事实上，单身问题也并非现代社会的产物，从公元前的西汉王朝到古罗马，政府和国家就为国民“找对象“的问题操碎了心。从古至今，各个国家都想了哪些办法解决单身问题呢？

古罗马

The Lex Papia Poppaea was introduced in 9 AD to encourage marriage. Penalties were imposed on those who were celibate and married people who had no children.
公元9年古罗马颁布了《巴比亚波培亚法》，该法律对对公民的单身状况进行了相关规定，根据法律，独身和已婚不育的夫妇，都需要受到惩罚。

中国

古代中国的法令法规里，对老百姓的终身大事一样有规定：

《汉书•惠帝纪》记载，公元前189年，刘盈下令：“女子年十五以上至三十不嫁，五算。”（Unmarried women from 15 to 30 need to pay taxes five times higher than married ones.）

意思是大龄剩女（15-30岁）们需要多交常人5倍的税赋；南北朝时期的《宋书•周朗传》中也说到：

“女子十五不嫁，家人坐之。”（Families members of the women who do not marry after 15 years old have to be imprisoned.）

意味15岁还不能嫁人的女孩，家里人也要跟着坐牢。

In 1695, the English parliament passed The Marriage Duty Act or Registration Tax, which imposed a tax on childless couples, widowers and bachelors over the age of 25. It was primarily used as a revenue-raising mechanism for the war on France.
1695年，英国议会通过了“婚姻与注册税法”， 法律不仅规定了25岁以上的单身人士需要纳税，就连无子女的夫妇和丧偶个人也需要缴纳税款，主要目的用于征集英国对法战争的款项。

新加坡：男女约会政府买单

新加坡是世界上人口出生率（birth rate）最低的国家，新加坡政府公开招标并表示，希望通过企业策划特别优惠活动，并由政府为速配成功男女提供约会开销。

韩国：政府组织全国相亲大会

在韩国，全国相亲大会（blind date）也是由韩政府这个最不像媒人的媒人组织，政府对单身潮的焦虑可见一斑。2010韩国保健福祉部年开始推广全国相亲大会，场面非常壮观。

而我国的单身大军更是惊动了“团中央”，今年5月，团中央发话了：

“共青团将通过媒体和各组织开展教育，帮助青年树立正确婚恋观、家庭观；联合社会青年组织多开展便于青年交往的活动，为他们结交朋友创造更多的机会和条件；协调和推动司法部门来规范婚介服务，打击虚假欺骗行为，帮助青年人找到合适伴侣。”

所以，单身的朋友们，团中央都在给我们撑腰呢，你还担心啥？