Arab News Japan

TOKYO: With the fertility rate in Tokyo dropping below one for the first time ever in data released on June 5, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) is taking the extraordinary step of getting involved in the matchmaking business to try and bring men and women together to have children.

To encourage those who are hesitant about looking for a partner or to get married, TMG held the first “TOKYO Meeting on Marriage Support” on Monday. 

The meeting, the first of its kind in Japan, brought together organizations related to matching apps, matchmaking service agencies, wedding halls, and other wedding-related businesses to discuss the relevant issues.

Tokyo Governor KOIKE Yuriko, who attended the meeting, said, “The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has been providing seamless support ranging from meeting a life partner and marriage, childbirth, to child-rearing so that anyone who wishes to do so can marry, have, and raise children.”

“Because it is more important than anything else to create a society in which people can have hope for the future, we are providing support. The beginning of this process is meeting a partner and getting married. We need to solidly support such a process. I would like to share our wisdom with all of you, thus increasing the opportunities for wonderful encounters.”

Nojiri Yoshitaka, executive director and chairman of Future Wedding Japan, commented: “It is important to motivate and arouse action toward romance and marriage. First, we will advance our activities to communicate the longing for romance and marriage to young people. We would also like to have awareness-raising activities to help people discover the appeal of marriage by showing the evidence that those who have attended wedding ceremonies become positive about such life events as romance, marriage, and childbirth.”

TMG will begin full-scale operation of an AI-aided matching system program this fiscal year to introduce people to prospective partners with a high probability of a successful relationship based on values tests and other factors, while utilizing the expertise and know-how of private-sector businesses. 

An AI-driven simulator will be available to help individuals draw up a life plan, including marriage and child-rearing.

TMG’s other tactics include talk shows and seminars useful forspouse hunting activities; turning anecdotes about marriage into manga comics; and collecting anecdotes concerning the period of spouse hunting and post-marriage life to establish a positive image of marriage.