Pierce Manhammer
Moderator
Tokyo’s Government Gets in the Matchmaking Business to Boost Marriages
A Tokyo City Hall site offering counsel and general info for potential lovebirds is already online, and a dating app is in development for later this year.
Tokyo’s latest scheme, "Tokyo Futari Story," is a desperate attempt to pair off the city’s singles because apparently, solitude is the new norm. They’re planning a dating app—basically Tinder, but with all the joy sucked out by bureaucratic hoops. They’re considering requiring ID verification, tax records, and a signed "ready to marry" form.
With marriages and birth rates plummeting, they think an app will succeed where cash incentives and relaxed immigration policies have failed. It’s like they’re ignoring the real issues: outdated marriage expectations, brutal work hours, and the prohibitive cost of raising children.