Tokyo Government to Launch Dating App as Japan Fights Population Crisis

For our last story tonight, let me tell you about two Japanese words, futari and hitori. Futari means a couple, Meanwhile hitori means being alone, in other words single. And the Japanese government favours one word over the other, much like a nosy neighbour. It prefers married couples because in Japan it is so common to be hitori or single that it is fueling a crisis, especially in Tokyo, which has the worst figures. 32% men over the age of 50 have never been married, along with about 24% of the women. And the young are increasingly following suit, which is not good news for the government in Tokyo. So now they want to rewrite the story by creating more futari couples or more couples of futari. How will they do that? With a new initiative called Tokyo Futari Story. It's a government run dating app. It hasn't been launched yet, but it is already creating a lot of buzz. And there are two reasons why. First, the app is driven by AI. When users join the app, they can take a quick test, list their values, the desired traits of a future partner, and based on the results, AI will match them with compatible people. So there is more emphasis on personality instead of appearance. And 2nd, this is a dating app by a government, which is both rare and slightly odd, but the expectation is that the app will have better guardrails. The details are not clear yet, but according to reports, the app will have a stringent registration process. Users will have to declare their age, height, relationship status, job, salary and educational details. Plus there will be paperwork like proof of identity and tax certificate. Safe to say this app has been met with mixed reactions. Some say users will feel safe using a state backed dating app because private apps are flooded with fake profiles and bots. But others say trust governments to drain the fun out of dating. People who sign up for these apps feel safe knowing that strange people won't be included, as the registration requires a certificate of single status. So there is a sense of security that there will be few people only looking for fun. I think it's a good initiative. I've used the dating app myself and there are a lot of people who impersonate others, but I'm a little hesitant to provide all my personal information to Tokyo government so I want to see how others react and then use it if it's OK. Private apps are more widely available now, so I think it will take some time for the Tokyo Futari story to become more widespread. I feel private apps are easier to use for now. That is true 7070% People looking to get married in Japan are not using dating apps and this number may reduce slightly. But a government matchmaker is far from becoming a hit. Expert claim that excessive documentation could be a barrier. So could be the scrutiny. It may be too soon to tell, but preexisting examples showcase a trend. In 2021, Iran launched a state approved Islamic dating app. It failed because the government was tracking users as personal data and pictures. Then last year, Chinese City launched a matchmaking app and things got very creepy very quickly. The app keeps records of matched couples, it asks to be updated about their love life, and the state has access to all interactions on the platform. People already have relatives for that, and this is China we're talking about. Now, this is not to say that the Japanese app would also follow suit or would fail, but this is a common fear among users. And there is an additional issue. The motive of the Japanese dating app. It can be used to date, but according to officials, it is solely intended for marriage. It is only for users looking for marriage. And the problem is that in Japan, that's not something many people are looking for. For decades now, the island nation has not seen much matrimonial luck. Last year, the number of marriages fell by 3030 thousand, while the number of divorces rose. This is further worsening Japans population crisis. This month the government released fresh data. To no one surprise, fertility rates hit another record low with far reaching consequences for Japanese economy, workforce and social fabric. So officials have been scrambling to find a solution. They're expanding childcare facilities, offering housing subsidies, paying couples to have children, organizing matchmaking events, offering counsel for potential lovebirds. And now they're using a new tack, a dating app. But experts say this too may fail in the end. The main reason for the low number of marriages and birth rates is that people want to raise their children in a good economic environment, and they don't give birth or get married until those conditions are met. So this app doesn't change that. Main reason? It is either too expensive or too inconvenient to have children in Japan. A dating app is yet another taxpayer funded solution that does not address the fundamental problems here. If history, trends and experts are to be believed, many will swipe left on the state backed AI Cupid. Now if only AI could play fortune teller for Japan. 1st Post reports from the world's second largest continent Hello, I'm Alison LaGrange, a very warm welcome from Durban, South Africa. We get you the news and the newsmakers from Africa. From elections to climate change to innovations and opportunities, as the world's attention shifts, we report from Africa, the heart of the global S. Join me every weekday live on 1st Pose.