Amid mounting concerns over Japan’s declining birthrate and rapidly aging population, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike’s administration has introduced a series of measures to confront the demographic crisis.
As part of that effort, Tokyo’s metropolitan government launched an AI-driven matchmaking service in September 2024 designed to connect men and women seeking marriage.
By late September 2025, 94 couples had formed serious relationships and ultimately married through the program. Several newlyweds, speaking on the record and appearing with their real names and faces, shared their experience.
The city is also expanding its offline efforts, hosting in-person events to create more opportunities for people to connect.
AI Meets Romance in Tokyo
In recent years, Tokyo has strengthened its support for families at all stages of a child’s life, from birth and infancy through the school years, to help address declining births.
Its latest matchmaking service, “TOKYO Enmusubi,” is available through a smartphone app or web browser. Users register their profiles and preferred partner criteria, and the system’s AI recommends compatible matches. When both sides express interest, they can schedule an in-person meeting.
A 2024 nationwide survey by the Children and Families Agency, targeting men and women aged 15 to 39, found that 25.1% of married respondents met their spouse through a dating app.
This ranked higher than more traditional meeting places, such as workplace or work-related connections (20.5%) and school (9.9%), making it the most common way couples meet.
Matching services have now become a standard method for men and women to find partners.
From Clicks to Commitment
Many participants said they felt encouraged to take part because the initiative was run by the local government rather than a private company. The strict requirement to submit a “certificate of single status,” confirming compliance with the civil code’s ban on bigamy, also inspired confidence.
“After all, it’s an app run by the city, so it felt more reliable,” said Toshiro and Shiho Shinkawa, a couple who met in February 2024 through TOKYO Enmusubi.
The AI service had identified them as highly compatible in both values and personality, which likely helped them develop a close relationship quickly.
Three months after they first met, Toshiro proposed, and the two registered their marriage in July. They are now enjoying life as newlyweds in Tokyo.
Open to users aged 18 and over, the service had accumulated more than 27,000 participants by the end of September 2025. Of these, 94 couples — roughly 0.7% of all users — have gone on to tie the knot.
Helping Make the First Move
At her regular press conference in September, marking exactly one year since the program’s launch, Governor Koike was asked to assess its results.
“I believe we are providing opportunities and catalysts,” she said.
The earlier survey also found that roughly 50% of individuals who wanted to get married but did not yet have a partner had taken “no action” toward marriage.
In addition to its app, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government frequently organizes matchmaking events where participants can meet potential partners face-to-face.
On December 22, starting at 12:30 PM, it will host the “TOKYO Marriage Support Festa” at Yurakucho Station Plaza, offering free information and resources for those seeking marriage.
A representative from Tokyo’s Bureau of Citizens and Cultural Affairs, which oversees the initiative, said, “We hope people will use the city’s programs as a starting point to find the approach that best suits their needs.”
RELATED:
Author: Wataru Utsugi, The Sankei Shimbun
(Read this in Japanese)
Continue Reading
AloJapan.com