<p>I wouldn't call it common, based on the data I've found, but the situation commonly portrayed in anime, manga and light novels <em>are not unheard of in real life</em>.</p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6177267/" rel="noreferrer">this study</a>, those aged 15-19 that live alone <strong>comprises only about 5% of the population</strong>. It's worth nothing that the graph peaks at the age ranges of 20-24 and 80-84. <strong>So while there are indeed students living alone in real life, it's not as common as anime, manga or light novels make it to be.</strong></p>
<p>There are also some discussion about this on different sites, some who've had Japanese friends who live alone. Here are some links if you'd like to read about their experiences. <a href="https://jref.com/threads/young-people-living-alone-in-japan.37107/" rel="noreferrer">Link 1</a>, <a href="https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/answerman/2017-01-16/.111067" rel="noreferrer">Link 2</a>, <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/2i79j5/are_underaged_students_living_alone_really_a_thing/" rel="noreferrer">Link 3</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-25T11:18:17.957Z
2020-08-25T11:18:17.957Z
W. Are
<p>In so many animes, I have noticed that middle- and high-school kids live by themselves without any adults around to supervise. While this may serve as a useful plot device, I noticed that it happens far too often. Arima Kousei of <em>Your Lie in April</em> lives alone because his father is always out on business trips, Sakuta Azusagawa (<em>Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai</em>) and Kyon (<em>Haruhi Suzumiya</em> series) live with their younger sisters. Other characters of <em>Haruhi Suzumiya</em> like Yuki Nagato and Ryoko Asakura, both functionally human to that society, also live by themselves. <strong>Is that common in Japanese society?</strong></p>
<p>[Having lived in multiple cities across multiple countries, I have never seen school kids living alone in houses like that. The best I've seen within the budget of older university students are single-room apartments or shared houses.]</p>
<p>Ideally, I'm looking for answers from people who have first-hand experience of school life in Japan. Answers based on studies and reports would be OK too, if you can translate the relevant information to English.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-01T20:43:55.150Z
High school I guess, but middle really? Example please?
BCLC
<japan>
Is it common for Japanese school kids to live alone IRL?
# Is it common for Japanese school kids to live alone IRL?
Posted by: username_0 on 2020-08-24
In so many animes, I have noticed that middle- and high-school kids live by themselves without any adults around to supervise. While this may serve as a useful plot device, I noticed that it happens far too often. Arima Kousei of *Your Lie in April* lives alone because his father is always out on business trips, Sakuta Azusagawa (*Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai*) and Kyon (*Haruhi Suzumiya* series) live with their younger sisters. Other characters of *Haruhi Suzumiya* like Yuki Nagato and Ryoko Asakura, both functionally human to that society, also live by themselves. **Is that common in Japanese society?**

[Having lived in multiple cities across multiple countries, I have never seen school kids living alone in houses like that. The best I've seen within the budget of older university students are single-room apartments or shared houses.]

Ideally, I'm looking for answers from people who have first-hand experience of school life in Japan. Answers based on studies and reports would be OK too, if you can translate the relevant information to English.
**Tags:** japan
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: High school I guess, but middle really? Example please?  
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## 1 answers
### Answer by username_2 on 2020-08-25. Score: 10 | Accepted answer
I wouldn't call it common, based on the data I've found, but the situation commonly portrayed in anime, manga and light novels *are not unheard of in real life*.

According to [this study](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6177267/), those aged 15-19 that live alone **comprises only about 5% of the population**. It's worth nothing that the graph peaks at the age ranges of 20-24 and 80-84. **So while there are indeed students living alone in real life, it's not as common as anime, manga or light novels make it to be.**

There are also some discussion about this on different sites, some who've had Japanese friends who live alone. Here are some links if you'd like to read about their experiences. [Link 1](https://jref.com/threads/young-people-living-alone-in-japan.37107/), [Link 2](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/answerman/2017-01-16/.111067), [Link 3](https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/2i79j5/are_underaged_students_living_alone_really_a_thing/)
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