The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has decided to launch its dating app as early as the end of summer as part of attempts to revive the country’s falling birth rate, the officials confirmed on Tuesday (June 4th). Users must present evidence demonstrating that they are lawfully single and sign a letter declaring their willingness to marry.
As per the reports, declaring one’s income is standard on Japanese dating apps, but Tokyo will now require a tax certificate slip to verify the annual earnings.
“We learned that 70% 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 was quoted as saying.
Elon Musk, X’s owner and SpaceX CEO, who has always advocated for more children and is a father of 11, has notably hailed a recent attempt by the Tokyo administration to address the country’s declining birth rates. Musk responded to a tweet mentioning the government of Japan’s capital developing its dating app in an effort to raise birth rates, saying he is “glad” the issue has been acknowledged.
“I’m glad the government of Japan recognizes the importance of this matter. If radical action isn’t taken, Japan (and many other countries) will disappear,” Elon Musk wrote on the microblogging site.
I’m glad the government of Japan recognizes the importance of this matter.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 5, 2024
If radical action isn’t taken, Japan (and many other countries) will disappear! https://t.co/5zTwRCQC3o
According to government data released in February, Japan’s birth rates fell for the eighth consecutive year and reached a new low in 2023. The number of births fell 5.1% from the previous year to 758,631, while the number of weddings dropped 5.9% to 489,281, marking the first time in 90 years that the figure went below 500,000.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida described the trend of dropping birth rates as the “gravest crisis the nation faces”.
According to forecasts from the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, the Asian nation’s population will fall by roughly 30% to 87 million by 2070, with four out of every ten persons aged 65 or older.
