Unemployed Japanese man has 4 'wives', 2 girlfriends, wants to father 54 children

Ryuta Watanabe said that each of his wives has her own room, and he sleeps with different wives every night. He also claimed that his wives never get jealous get along with each other like friends. (Image credit: @somoskudasai/X)

A 36-year-old man in Japan, who has not worked for 10 years, has four wives and two girlfriends. Ryuta Watanabe said he wants to become the “God of Marriage” and father 54 children. He lives entirely on the money earned by his wives and girlfriends, taking on the role of a househusband, cooking, doing housework, and taking care of the kids. The household expenses, which amount to more than Rs 5 lakh a month, are split between his wives and girlfriends.

Watanabe is already the father of 10 children and lives with two of them and three of his wives, Japan’s Shueisha Online reported. Polygamy is illegal in Japan so he lives with his wives in a marriage-like relationship without formal registration based on mutually agreed shared responsibilities and long-term cohabitation. Watanabe also has a fourth wife, a 24-year-old, but they are estranged.

Speaking about his relationship with women on a Japanese television show, Watanabe said “I just love women. As long as we love each other equally, there won’t be any problems.” He also claimed to have sex more than 28 times a week, and said his wives never get jealous. They get along well like friends, he said, adding that each of his wives has her own room, and he sleeps with a different wife every night.

“I want to have 54 children so my name will go down in history. I’m still looking for new wives,” South China Morning Post (SCMP) quoted him as saying.

Elaborating on what pushed him towards his current arrangement, Watanabe said it started six years ago when he was depressed after being dumped by his girlfriend and was living on welfare. He then started to meet various women through dating apps before eventually developing this family setup.