Japan wants more men and women to go on dates. It wants to increase the birth rate. There are fewer babies being born. Japan is using artificial intelligence (AI) to match couples and help them find love. The government will use $19 million to set the software up. There are already matchmaking services in half of Japan. With these, people have to fill out forms and answer questions on hobbies and interests. A worker then matches people. The AI project will automate this system. AI software can perform a more advanced analysis of data and get better matches.
The government wants to increase the size of the population. Japan's fertility rate is one of the lowest in the world. Japanese women have an average of 1.36 children. This figure is going down. A government spokesperson said: "We hope this support will help reverse the decline in the nation's birth rate." Japan's population is ageing quickly because people are living longer. The longevity rate for women is the highest in the world. This is a problem for Japan's economy. There are fewer younger workers to pay for the pension and welfare of retired people.