Desperate Measures for Low Birthrate: "Please Meet Up" [The Editors' Verdict]

Kyung-ho Lee, Head of Issue & Trend Team

Last June, Tokyo Metropolitan Government in Japan launched a pilot version of its own dating application (app) to encourage marriage and address the chronic low birthrate issue. The app is called "Tokyo Futari Story," which means "Tokyo Two-Person Story" in Korean. To register on the app, users must submit a photo ID along with income certificates, family relationship certificates, and proof of being unmarried. They also need to provide 15 pieces of personal information, including height, education, and occupation. An interview with the app operator is mandatory, and users must pledge that they are not just meeting someone casually but are seeking a marriage partner.

While local governments sometimes arrange meetings or marriages for unmarried men and women, operating a dating app is rare. Tokyo’s total fertility rate (the average number of children a woman has in her lifetime) is 0.99, the lowest nationwide. Among men aged 50, 32% are unmarried, and among women, 24%, both the highest in the country. The total number of marriages in Japan in 2022 was 500,000, about half of what it was 50 years ago. Because the cost of living and housing prices are high in Tokyo, marriage and child-rearing are not easy, so the app aims to help those interested in marriage but unable to find a partner. Miyazaki Prefecture partnered with private dating apps to provide free paid services to local residents, and Kyoto City held metaverse (extended virtual world) events to facilitate marriages.

In South Korea, local governments are also arranging meetings for unmarried men and women amid the population cliff crisis. Most of these are offline events. These are popular because the local governments verify identities to ensure trustworthy partners, and participants can enjoy various events that naturally lead to dating. In 2016, Dalseo District in Daegu became the first in the nation to establish a marriage promotion team and has been organizing matchmaking events. Seongnam City in Gyeonggi Province plans to hold five related events this year, following last year. Other popular events include "Solo Ending" in Gwangyang, Jeollanam-do, "I am Gimhye Solo" in Gimhae, Gyeongsangnam-do, and "Haeundae Rendezvous" in Haeundae District, Busan. Saha District in Busan will hold a monthly meeting day for unmarried Koreans and foreigners starting in September. Taebaek City in Gangwon Province will hold camps for unmarried public institution employees under 39 years old and offer financial support of 3 million won for marriage within one year, 2 million won within two years, and 1 million won within three years. Japan also has marriage support centers in most of its 47 prefectures, providing dating coaching and matchmaking services.

Foreign media have taken note of the cases in Korea and Japan. Initially, these were seen as topical issues related to the population cliff in Asian countries, but now the perspective has changed. Low birthrate is not a problem unique to Korea and Japan. Business Insider in the United States recently introduced Tokyo’s dating app and asked, "Can the government bring the innovation needed for dating apps?" calling it a question that was once unthinkable in the U.S. but now is a compelling one. Some experts are optimistic about the government playing the role of Cupid. They analyze that while private dating apps aim for profit, public dating apps’ profit lies in users’ benefits?dating, marriage, and ultimately childbirth.

There are counterarguments that public dating apps and matchmaking are unlikely to be fundamental solutions, may disadvantage low-income or socially vulnerable groups, and could be just a passing trend. While creating quality jobs is important to reduce unemployment and increase employment rates, it is also crucial to encourage those who have given up on employment to regain the will to work. From the perspective of improving young people’s perceptions of dating and marriage and providing opportunities, this should be seen as a desperate measure to find solutions to the low birthrate problem.