"Happiness is Number One", a day for Quasi-married Couples

One of the several anniversaries on April 18th annually surprise me, because I think it is the first time I have ever seen a reference to "quasi-married" in Japan. It is still very rare to hear of people in partnerships rather than marriages, in my part of Japan anyway. Yet this day is a day for such people.

In Japanese the anniversary is called "Junkon kappuru no kizuna o kakunin shi au no hi" 準婚カップルの絆を確認し合う, which translates to "Confirming the bond between a couple in a quasi-marriage relationship".  Who refers to couples who live as if married and / or intend to marry but how have not / yet submitted a legal marriage registration. They are treated as being in a marriage-like relationship even without the formal paperwork.

The anniversary was created by a consulting group in Nagano to encourage such couples to reaffirm their bond and reflect on their shared life. The date comes from a goroawase, Japanese play on readings of numbers, of 4/18 that reads "shiawase (4) ichi (1) ban (8)" meaning "Happiness is number one".