The City of Tokyo Aims to Increase Dating, Marriage
2024-06-11
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1The city of Tokyo is launching a campaign to create couples in a country where it is increasingly common for people to be alone.
2Called "Tokyo Futari Story," the plan aims to create couples, called "futari" in the Japanese language.
3A website offering advice and general information for possible lovebirds is online.
4There is also a dating app in development.
5The Tokyo government hopes to offer it later this year.
6The app will be available through phone or the web, a city official said recently.
7Details were still undecided.
8The city government would not comment on Japanese media reports that said the app will require a lot of information.
9Users reportedly would need to confirm their identity, such as with a driver's license, provide tax records to prove income and sign a form that says the person is ready to get married.
10The reports also said the app might ask for a person's height, job and education, but the official denied anything had been decided.
11Marriage is on the decline in Japan.
12Recent health ministry data shows that the country's birth rate fell to an all-time low in 2023.
13Last year there were 474,717 marriages, down from 504,930 in 2022.
14Births totaled 727,277, down from 770,759 from the year before.
15On the national level, the government has been trying to solve a serious labor shortage.
16The government has promised cash payments to families with children and support for child-care providers.
17It has also eased immigration policy over the years to increase foreign workers.
18During the so-called "baby boom" of the 1970s, Japan recorded more than 2 million births a year.
19Like many young adults around the world today, fewer Japanese are interested in marriage or having children.
20There are concerns that Japanese workplace culture leads to extremely long hours.
21Such hours make it difficult to meet people outside of work.
22Some say raising children is too costly.
23The Tokyo government is also supporting events where single people can meet and couples can get counseling on marriage.
24In addition, lovers can have stories of how they first met turned into art such as manga comics or even songs.
25I'm John Russell.
1The city of Tokyo is launching a campaign to create couples in a country where it is increasingly common for people to be alone. 2Called "Tokyo Futari Story," the plan aims to create couples, called "futari" in the Japanese language. 3A website offering advice and general information for possible lovebirds is online. There is also a dating app in development. The Tokyo government hopes to offer it later this year. 4The app will be available through phone or the web, a city official said recently. 5Details were still undecided. The city government would not comment on Japanese media reports that said the app will require a lot of information. Users reportedly would need to confirm their identity, such as with a driver's license, provide tax records to prove income and sign a form that says the person is ready to get married. 6The reports also said the app might ask for a person's height, job and education, but the official denied anything had been decided. 7Marriage and birth rates 8Marriage is on the decline in Japan. 9Recent health ministry data shows that the country's birth rate fell to an all-time low in 2023. 10Last year there were 474,717 marriages, down from 504,930 in 2022. 11Births totaled 727,277, down from 770,759 from the year before. 12On the national level, the government has been trying to solve a serious labor shortage. The government has promised cash payments to families with children and support for child-care providers. It has also eased immigration policy over the years to increase foreign workers. 13During the so-called "baby boom" of the 1970s, Japan recorded more than 2 million births a year. Like many young adults around the world today, fewer Japanese are interested in marriage or having children. 14There are concerns that Japanese workplace culture leads to extremely long hours. Such hours make it difficult to meet people outside of work. Some say raising children is too costly. 15The Tokyo government is also supporting events where single people can meet and couples can get counseling on marriage. In addition, lovers can have stories of how they first met turned into art such as manga comics or even songs. 16I'm John Russell. 17Yuri Kageyama reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English. 18_____________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20couple -n. two people in a relationship 21lovebirds -n. (informal) two people who are in love 22app (application) - n. (technology) a computer program that has a special use 23income - n. money that is earned 24decline -n. a decrease in some value 25baby boom - n. a period when an especially large number of babies are born usually because of a growing economy 26manga comic - n. a kind of Japanese comic book that tells stories mainly through pictures, using only a few words