Contributed by: kellyseal on Wednesday, June 26 2024 @ 06:12 pm
Last modified on Wednesday, June 26 2024 @ 06:22 pm
The government in the municipality of Tokyo announced it will be launching a state-run dating app to help young singles connect, and to increase birth and marriage rates. This state run dating app was first brought to our intention back at the beginning of the year.
According to Associated Press[*1] , “Tokyo Futari Story,” the city’s new initiative, is an effort to increase couples or “futari,” in a country where young people are more commonly alone. The initiative will involve an online dating site, but the government is also developing an app.
Tokyo City Hall is heading the project and has declined to disclose many details. However, The Japan Times reported that singles who sign up will need to verify their identity through official documentation, and to prove that they are single. Government officials told the paper that tax records will be required to prove income, and potential users of the app must sign a form that says they are ready to marry. (The intention of the app is, after all, to increase marriages and childbirth rates.)
Municipalities in Japan have typically offered dating events for singles, but this is the first one offering an official dating app.
Japan’s Ministry of Health shared last year that marriage rates were declining: in 2023, there were 474,717 marriages in the country, down from 504,930 in 2022. Birth rates had a similar decline: 727,277 births in 2023 compared to 770,759 in 2022.
Population decline is a global trend, including in China, and some governments are looking for ways to buck the trend. Among many reasons for the decline are that young people are opting to work while they are young rather than get married and raise a family, and women in particular are not interested in giving up careers for motherhood.
Still, the government in Tokyo says that young people want to get married, they are just reluctant to be proactive.
"We learned that 70% of people who want to get married aren't actively joining events or apps to look for a partner," a Tokyo government official in charge of the new app told Japan Times[*2] . "We want to give them a gentle push to find one."
People in Japan have mixed feelings about the app, according to Japan Times. Some say they feel safer knowing that the government is vetting users and that serious people will be signing up, but others are questioning how their tax dollars are being used in service to this project.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is also promising new policies to encourage people to start families, including financial aid, childcare access and longer parental leave.