X owner and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who has long encouraged people to have more children, tweeted his support for the Tokyo administration's latest move to launch its own dating app to tackle Japan's plunging birth rates.
In a rare move, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government is launching its own dating app to promote marriage and boost the plunging national birthrate. According to Independent, this new premium application run by a private business owner will launch this summer.
Users will need to sign a letter declaring their willingness to be married and provide proof that they are single legally. Users will also need to submit a tax certificate slip using the app in order to verify their yearly income. As part of the registration procedure for the Tokyo app, which has been available for free test runs since late last year, an interview will also be necessary to verify the identity of the user.
Users will have to specify the "values" they are looking for in a mate after they have been accepted. Next, AI will be used to connect individuals who have similar beliefs. Over 70 per cent of those who want to marriage don't actively participate in events or dating apps. "We aim to gently encourage them to locate one," an official from the Tokyo administration overseeing the new application stated to AFP.
The app would provide a "gentle push" for the nearly "70 per cent of people who want to get married" but weren't "actively joining events or apps to look for a partner", yet another official told AFP.
X owner and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk also reacted to the development and praised Japan's move. Responding to a tweet regarding the same, Musk said he is "glad" that Japan has recognised the importance of this matter. Musk in the past has said that we as a society must raise our birth rate to counteract ageing populations.
Japan had more than twice as many deaths as births in the previous year. The number of births decreased for the eighth year in a row to 758,631, a 5.1% decrease, according to preliminary official figures. The total number of fatalities was 1,590,503.