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Tokyo government’s AI-powered dating app, Tokyo Enmusubi, officially launched

3 Comments
By Krista Rogers, SoraNews24

In a 2021 online survey conducted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, 67 percent of the surveyed 3,267 residents of Tokyo hope to get married someday. However, among those, 69.3 percent haven’t even taken the first step towards finding a potential partner. The government now aims to support this group by providing the incentive to get them out the door via the Tokyo Enmusubi AI matching system (part of the Tokyo Futari Story initiative), previously announced earlier this year and finally rolled out on September 20.

▼ While some people may be wary of sharing their personal information with private dating apps due to the prevalence of dating scams, an official app sponsored by the government could allay these fears (maybe free roses and chocolates would also help?)

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Image: Pakutaso

Enmusubi is a Japanese term that literally means “tying of fates” and signifies a matchmaking of sorts, usually in the romantic sense. Certain Shinto shrines throughout Japan are well-known as popular “enmusubi power spots” for couples and single people seeking a committed romantic relationship, so the name of the system lends a special sense of security. It’s now available to people in all stages of life who are 18 or older, legally unmarried, and live, work, or study in Tokyo. The registration fee, which was still being debated earlier this summer, is set at 11,000 yen per person and provides access to the system for two years. Implementation of the fee is intended to drive away those who might have used the app for casual purposes in favor of those who are serious about settling down.

In addition, the app is being promoted with three main distinguishing points:

1. The AI system will match people with a high probability of compatibility based on their results from tests about their personal values.

2. Verification of an individual’s identity is required, including proof that they are legally single, a disclosure of income, and a virtual admissions interview with staff before gaining access to the app.

3. Consultation with experienced staff members is available for users to address any questions or concerns they may have throughout the process, from the start of dating to after marriage.

Finally, Tokyo Enmusubi users should also be familiar with other governmental supports, such as in-person social offerings like sports or art-viewing, access to the Tokyo Futari Story website, which houses information relevant to those hoping to get married, such as meet-up events and recommended date spots, and the Tokyo Life Design Simulator, an AI tool for young people to simulate a life plan that includes marriage and child-raising.

If you meet the eligibility requirements, the application to register on Tokyo Enmusubi can be found here.

Source: Tokyo Metropolitan Government

Read more stories from SoraNews24.

-- Japan’s biggest dating app says young people not interested in romance, creates AI girlfriend app

-- Roughly 40 percent of single Japanese men in their 20s have never been on a date, survey says

-- Japanese government’s new birth rate plan: Use AI to tell people who’d be a good spouse for them

© SoraNews24

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

3 Comments
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I support government intervention here, because they can verify users actually exist and are single because the government has ID data that private companies should not own. I would expect far fewer liars and (complete) time wasters on a government app. There will still be time wasters, but that will be folks' personalities, and should not failings of the system.

Since this is the Tokyo government which is very big, let's hope they have enough manpower and savvy inhouse to do this themselves. If this is just being outsourced, its likely to cost the taxpayer a lot and deliver very little. I only found out recently, but my inaka town has been outsourcing the handling of furusato nozei to a private company, so all of the gifts were dispatched by a company creaming a very tasty percentage off the top. If the gift costs 30% of the tax and the admin fee is 20%, only 50% of the tax someone has diverted will actually pay for something. That is a very poor result.

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Verification of an individual’s identity is required, including proof that they are legally single, a disclosure of income, and a virtual admissions interview with staff before gaining access to the app

So what is the real reason for the 11,000 yen fee then?

DOA.

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While some people may be wary of sharing their personal information with private dating apps due to the prevalence of dating scams, an official app sponsored by the government could allay these fears

Looking at how the government have fumbled repeatedly with different apps and systems I know some people will doubt the service even more precisely because it is run by the government.

The AI system will match people with a high probability of compatibility based on their results from tests about their personal values.

Without a proper validation by experts this can be just disguising a coin toss, a lot of tests for personality and values are just pseudoscience without any real basis, AI matching without a scientific basis either may make this even worse than random matching, after all AI is known to introduce negative bias that would affect the matching and promote only matches with people of specific characteristics without proper consideration of the other person preferences.

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