Japanese man with four wives loses his harem, gains new girlfriends

In December 2023, the Japanese media went briefly crazy about a real-life harem manga scenario where a man claimed to have four wives.

Though only married to one of his partners legally, Ryuta Watanabe was living comfortably as a househusband in Sapporo while the women worked to support the household. With his common-law and legal spouses all in their twenties and together under one roof (except for the fourth “wife,” who lived separately), 35-year-old Watanabe had three young children.

So what happened to Watanabe after all that media attention? Fortunately, Weekly Friday has chased the story up and provided some details about his present circumstances in an article written by gravure idol Sarii Yoshizawa.

Now aged 38 and with over 50,000 subscribers who want to know about this polygamous kept man, Watanabe no longer has a harem, but he does apparently have 13 kids. And new live-in partners are on the horizon.

It all went wrong late last year, when two of his wives and four children moved out, leaving him alone with his second wife, Ayaka (pictured, with Watanabe). Watanabe officially married Ayaka on August 8. He no longer so frequently updates his YouTube channel, once a lucrative income stream, and claims to be depressed.

“The sense of loss from the family shrinking was immense, and I have no motivation to do anything. I can’t summon the will to act at all. I’m not living a polygamous life anymore. I’ve always had tendencies toward manic-depression. When my mood is high, I go full throttle on things, and when it’s low, I grind to a halt. Even so, I used to push myself because I had the children and family to support. I had to put food on the table. In short, they were my fuel.”

His relationship with Ayaka is also not always great. “Maybe a month ago I actually thought about separating. When I get down, I just want to shut everything out, regardless of who I’m with.” They are trying to have a child by IVF.

Though his live-in harem has collapsed, he is still sexually active with multiple partners. “Even in my current state, I have seven new girlfriends. If you count my main wife, Ayaka, that makes eight in total.”

All his girlfriends are apparently aware of his reputation and family situation.

“The first girlfriend is the one closest to being a main wife. She’s a nursery school teacher, and we’ve been together for a year and a half. We’re actively trying to conceive. If she gets pregnant, I think we’ll end up living together. The second one is a 32-year-old who works at an ice cream shop. We met on Tinder a little while ago. We just started dating, so aren’t trying for a baby yet. I met the third girlfriend on Tinder, too. She’s a 46-year-old married woman.”

This third woman is a cash cow for Watanabe.

“She’s a doctor, and her family are investors. She’s loaded, always showing up in an insanely expensive foreign car. It’s not that she wants to leave her husband. She just wanted a younger boyfriend. I never asked for it, but she gives me ¥30,000 yen every time.”

So it’s essentially like sugar dating. For all of us mere mortals who have languished in the doldrums of dating apps, unable to connect with anyone, it stings that a guy approaching 40 with more baggage than a hotel porter is able to find hook-ups on Tinder.

“My fourth girlfriend is the oldest of the bunch at 50. She’s a girlfriend, for sure, but the dynamic is closer to a casual sex partner. She’s a stunning, ageless beauty. She’s a single mother who runs several beauty-related companies, and her family is loaded. She doesn’t just live in an apartment; she lives in an entire building she owns.” He also gets money from her, about ¥30,000 each time, which is more than young streetwalkers in Okubo Park charge for sex.

OK, are you keeping track? We are up to girlfriend number five now.

“We’ve been together for two years now. She’s a 29-year-old caregiver I met through DMs on X. She messaged me saying she wanted to hook up. I thought she was just messing around, but she was totally serious. It’s a long-distance relationship, since she lives in Yokohama, so we only see each other about once every two months. We meet up when I go to Tokyo for work. She’s originally from Hokkaido, so the plan is for us to move in together if she gets pregnant.”

His sixth girlfriend is a 37-year-old single mom. Again, they are trying to conceive, but it turns out he has an ulterior motive.

“She comes from a wealthy family and doesn’t work. She’s been divorced three times and has a 20-year-old child, who is part of the appeal for me. I’m hoping for a mother-daughter package deal. She and her daughter are inseparable and really close. She told me, ‘If we get married, my daughter comes along too.’ I’d love to marry her and get involved with the daughter as well.”

OK, things are getting a bit too outlandish for our tastes. Is Watanabe just making this up? It’s all become a bit like a harem manga fantasy.

If you’re struggling to keep count, you’re not alone. Even Watanabe was apparently confused when he tried to remember his seventh girlfriend. “Who was that again.?” Thankfully for her, he did eventually remember. “That’s my newest girlfriend. She’s 33 and works in medical administration. We met recently on Tinder. She wants a child, so we’re trying to conceive. We plan to live together once the baby is born.”

While not mentioned in the Friday interview, Watanabe’s YouTube channel claims that his original “fourth wife” Chihiro has returned home, heavily pregnant. It looks like his harem is coming back together.