Tokyo govt to launch dating app amid plummeting birth rate: 'Gentle push to find one'
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Japan is struggling with the issue of a declining birth rate, which hit a record low for the eighth straight year as the health ministry on Wednesday (Jun 5) described it as "critical".
The government has taken initiatives to improve the situation and urged young people to get married and start families. The Tokyo governmenthas also launched its own dating app, news agency AFP reported citing anofficial.
For a local government to develop an app is a rare move, but not entirely unusual as municipalities have organised matchmaking events in Japan in the past. It happened when births dropped to a new low in 2023.
The official said that the users will be required to submit documentation proving they are legally single and sign a letter stating they are willing to get married.
Notably, it is quite common to mention one's income on Japanese dating apps, but Tokyo will require a tax certificate slip to prove the annual salary.
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"We learned that 70 per cent of people who want to get married aren't actively joining events or apps to look for a partner. We want to give them a gentle push to find one," a Tokyo government official in charge of the new app told AFP.
The official said that an interview will be required to confirm a user's identity as part of the registration process for the Tokyo app. The dating app has apparently been on a test run for free since late last year.
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Plummeting birth rate in Japan
Japan is currently struggling with the issue of a plummeting birth rate. Last year the country recorded more than twice as many deaths as new babies.
Births fell for the eighth consecutive year to 758,631, a drop of 5.1 per cent, a preliminary government data showed. The number of deaths stood at 1,590,503.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has promised policies, including financial aid for families, easier childcare access and more parental leave. The nation is also facing growing labour shortages.
(With inputs from agencies)