- Overshooting 1.5C risks 'irreversible' climate impact: study
- Time running out in Florida to flee Hurricane Milton
- Demis Hassabis, from chess prodigy to Nobel-winning AI pioneer
- The long walk for water in the parched Colombian Amazon
- Biden-Netanyahu to talk as Hezbollah, Israeli forces clash
- France vows to step up drugs fight after police vehicles torched
- Air France says jet flew over Iraq during Iran attack on Israel
- Activists target Picasso work to protest Israel arms sales
- Let 'Emily in Paris' remain in Paris, Macron says
- Global stocks diverge as Chinese shares tumble
- Time runs out in Florida to flee Hurricane Milton
- Chad issues warning ahead of more devastating floods
- Record-breaking Root helps England dominate Pakistan in first Test
- German govt sees economy shrinking again in 2024
- Ex-UK soldier denies passing secrets to Iran intelligence
- Creator's death no bar to new 'Dragon Ball' products
- Three Kosovo Serbs on trial over 'secession plot' attack
- Van Gogh museum to launch Impressionism show
- French minister ups ante in Eiffel Tower Olympic rings row
- Japan PM calls snap election to 'create a new Japan'
- German police shut pro-Palestinian camp over Thunberg invite
- Chinese stocks tumble on lack of fresh stimulus
- Trio wins chemistry Nobel for protein design, prediction
- SE Asian summit urges end to Myanmar violence but struggles for solutions
- Wimbledon replaces line judges with electronic system
- Record-breaking Root hits hundred as England power to 351-3
- Record-breaking Root hits hundred as England's power to 351-3
- Sabalenka relishes 'much-needed' tennis rivalry with Swiatek
- Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson set for six weeks out
- Taylor Swift got police escort to London gigs after Austria terror plot
- Cook tips Root to break Tendulkar's all-time runs record
- British skull auction sparks Indian demand for return
- Joe Root: England's elegant Test record-breaker
- Braving war: Lebanon's 'badass' airline defies odds
- Klopp to return as head of Red Bull football operations
- Hezbollah strikes Israel, says it foiled Israeli incursions
- Jurgen Klopp to return as head of Red Bull football operations
- Sinner to face Medvedev in Shanghai Masters quarter-finals
- US weighs Google breakup in landmark trial
- Record-breaking Root guides England to 232-2 in reply to Pakistan's 556
- Japan PM dissolves parliament for 'honeymoon' snap election
- Chinese stocks tumble on stimulus upset, Asia tracks Wall St higher
- 7-Eleven owner confirms new takeover offer from Couche-Tard
- Goodbye Tito? Tomb at risk as Serbs argue over Yugoslav legacy
- Restoration experts piece together silent Sherlock Holmes mystery
- Sinner avoids Shanghai deja vu with assured Shelton win
- Pyongyang to 'permanently' shut border with South Korea
- Trumpet star Marsalis says jazz creates 'balance' in divided world
- No children left on Greece's famed but emptying island
- Nepali becomes youngest to climb world's 8,000m peaks
RBGPF | -2.48% | 59.33 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.28% | 24.64 | $ | |
BCC | 0.24% | 142.365 | $ | |
SCS | 2.29% | 13.08 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.11% | 24.8248 | $ | |
BTI | 0.42% | 35.37 | $ | |
NGG | -0.6% | 65.51 | $ | |
RIO | -0.94% | 66.04 | $ | |
GSK | 0.24% | 38.11 | $ | |
JRI | 0.24% | 13.191 | $ | |
RELX | -0.1% | 46.595 | $ | |
BP | -0.69% | 31.81 | $ | |
RYCEF | -1.01% | 6.9 | $ | |
BCE | -0.19% | 33.445 | $ | |
AZN | 0.03% | 76.89 | $ | |
VOD | 0.23% | 9.682 | $ |
Tokyo govt to launch dating app to boost birth rate
Japan's capital will launch its own dating app as early as this summer as part of government efforts to boost the plunging national birth rate, a Tokyo official said Tuesday.
Users will be required to submit documentation proving they are legally single and sign a letter stating they are willing to get married.
Stating one's income is common on Japanese dating apps, but Tokyo will require a tax certificate slip to prove the annual salary.
"We learned that 70 percent of people who want to get married aren't actively joining events or apps to look for a partner," a Tokyo government official in charge of the new app told AFP.
"We want to give them a gentle push to find one," he said.
It's not unusual for municipalities to organise matchmaking events in Japan, where births dropped to a new low in 2023, but it is rare for a local government to develop an app.
An interview will be required to confirm a user's identity as part of the registration process for the Tokyo app, which has been on a test run for free since late last year.
Many social media users expressed scepticism over the plans, with one saying, "is this something the government should be doing with our tax?"
Others wrote they were interested as they would feel safer.
Last year Japan recorded more than twice as many deaths as new babies.
Births fell for the eighth consecutive year to 758,631, a drop of 5.1 percent, preliminary government data showed. The number of deaths stood at 1,590,503.
The nation is facing growing labour shortages, and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has promised policies including financial aid for families, easier childcare access and more parental leave.
T.Ward--AMWN