The Tokyo Metropolitan Government in Japan is developing its own marriage app, set to launch this summer. Many localities are working to encourage “marriage activity” amid declining birth rates, but the government says the development of an app is rare. To increase reliability, the government will even require proof of singleness and income.

According to the government, in addition to a photo ID, a certificate of single status or a copy of the family book is required for registration. A preliminary interview is also required, and fifteen personal details such as height, academic achievements, employment, income, etc. must be entered beforehand for the other party to see. In the meantime, the fee to be charged for this service is also being evaluated.

The reason for this stricter registration is to “avoid problems” such as crime and false statements, according to the government. The presence of dating apps as a place to meet people is increasing, and the government says: “If there are many people who are interested but have not been able to get married, we want to support them.. We hope that people who were hesitant about conventional apps will take the first step into their marriage activities with a sense of security from the government.“.

Proof of income, such as withholding tax certificates, is also mandatory. According to a source familiar with the app industry, people with low or no income are generally less likely to get married on apps in Japan. The government has budgeted about 200 million yen in fiscal 2023 and 300 million yen in fiscal 2024 for marriage promotion projects, including app development.

• “Seriously, can I finally get my desired girl?“.
• “And how many companies will be involved in this application for the reliability of the project to decrease?“.
• “What's the point of creating new ones funded by taxpayers when we already have them? And I don't think the reason for not getting married is that people don't know each other.“.
• “It would be revolutionary for the city to automatically register when people are of marriageable age.“.
• “You will be hacked and abused everywhere, and you are a victim just because you are a resident of Japan.“.
• “If the metropolitan government is going to go to the trouble of doing this, the only point of registration should be whether you have a certain income level or not. They really wouldn't want to deal with a falling birth rate, would they?“.
• “The private sector often provides services for marriages that are fake or registered by marriage fraudsters, so it is fine for the public sector to do this. But don't they have their own income and household registration information? We don't want to disclose personal information to millions of people, so we need a feature that allows us to limit the number of people we can disclose information to and the number of cases.“.

Source: Yahoo! News Japan