Ryuta Watanabe, a 36-year-old citizen of the northern prefecture of Hokkaido, Japan, hasn’t had a job in the last ten years. Watanabe, who has been unemployed for ten years, has a distinct career aspiration: he wants to become the “God of Marriage.”
Watanabe, who currently has four wives and two girlfriends, relies entirely on their incomes to support his lifestyle. To top it all off, he has stated that he wants to father 54 children. This is an unusual family setup.
According to the South China Morning Post, his wives are common-law in nature, recognised as partners in a marriage-like relationship without formal registration, based on long-term cohabitation and shared responsibilities. Watanabe is already the father of 10 children and lives with two of them and three of his wives, Japan’s Shueisha Online reported. He takes on the role of a househusband, cooking, doing housework, and taking care of the children.
The household expenses, which are almost 914,000 yen (Rs 5 lakh) a month, are split between his wives and girlfriends. Watanabe also has a fourth wife, who is 24 years old, but they are estranged. In addition, he met two girlfriends via social media platforms, according to SCMP.
His girlfriend dumped a depressed Watanabe six years ago. He claimed that this is what motivated him to begin using dating apps to connect with other ladies.
Earlier this year, on the Japanese TV show Abema Prime, Watanabe said, “I just love women. As long as we love each other equally, there won’t be any problems.”