“Japan government to launch dating app to tackle this “gravest crisis country faces””, Times of India, June 8, 2024:
“Japan government body Tokyo City Hall is launching a new initiative called “Tokyo Futari Story” (Tokyo Two People Story) to address the growing trend of loneliness and declining marriage rates in Japan. “Futari” translates to “two people,” highlighting the program’s goal of creating lasting couples. The birth rate in Japan has been falling rapidly and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called the trend the “gravest crisis our country faces”.
\While a website offering love advice and general information for singles is already live, the centerpiece of the programme is a dating app, which is under development. City officials aim for a late-2024 release, accessible through both smartphone and web.Specific features of the app are still not clear. Japanese media speculation suggests that the app might require stringent verification like driver’s licenses, income tax records, and even a pre-marriage commitment statement has been denied by city officials.
Marriage and fertility rates at all-time low in JapanThe program is a response to a worrying trend. Japan’s marriage rate is at an all-time low, mirroring a decline in birth rates. Health ministry data shows a drop from 504,930 marriages in 2022 to 474,717 in 2023. Births followed a similar trend, decreasing from 770,759 to 727,277.The Tokyo initiative isn’t happening in isolation. The national government is tackling the labor shortage caused by the declining birth rate by offering financial incentives for families with children and expanding childcare facilities. Immigration policies have also been relaxed to attract foreign workers. Factors behind declining birth rateJapan’s “baby boom” era of the 1970s saw birth rates exceeding 2 million annually…..”
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