---
title: "Japan’s Government Is Using AI to Set Up Lonely Singles on Dates"
description: "The Japanese government plans to invest in local prefectures that develop new matchmaking AI to help singles in the area find love."
date: "2020-12-07"
modified: "2020-12-07"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/japan-ai-singles-dates"
categories:
  - "Artificial Intelligence"
tags:
  - "artificial intelligence"
  - "dating"
  - "Japan"
  - "the digest"
---

# Japan’s Government Is Using AI to Set Up Lonely Singles on Dates

![The Japanese government plans to invest in local prefectures that develop new matchmaking AI to help singles in the area find love.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/japanese-government-building-ai-matchmaker-lonely-singles.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Michael Patterson via Flickr/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## RomanceBot

Japanese officials are taking an unconventional approach to boosting the country's declining birthrate: Helping the lonely populace find love, using AI.

Yoshihide Suga, the new Prime Minister of Japan who was elected in September, will invest $19 million in local governments that develop artificial intelligence algorithms to serve as matchmaker for lonely singles in their region, [according to *Agence France-Presse*](<https://techxplore.com/news/2020-12-japan-boosts-ai-funding-lonely.html>). It sounds, well, unusual — but officials hope the AI is savvy enough to revitalize the entire country's population.

## MatchmAIker

Using AI in a dating service is nothing new — any dating app will rely on some sort of algorithm to determine whose accounts it places in front of whom. What stands out, however, is that this is a government project rather than a dating company like Tinder or OkCupid that's setting people up.

However, almost half of Japan's prefectures already offer some sort of matchmaking service for locals, *AFP* reports — the government is now merely looking to give them a high-tech boost.

## Baby Boom

Japan has one of the lowest birthrates in the world at just 1.36 expected children per family, *AFP* reports. That could have serious impacts on the nation years from now, especially it's already struggling to handle a [shortage of workers](<https://futurism.com/japan-aging-construction-workers-robots>).

"We are especially planning to offer subsidies to local governments operating or starting up matchmaking projects that use AI," an official from the Prime Minister's cabinet told *AFP*. "We hope this support will help reverse the decline in the nation's birthrate."

**READ MORE:** [Japan boosts AI funding to match lonely hearts](<https://techxplore.com/news/2020-12-japan-boosts-ai-funding-lonely.html>) \[*Agence France-Presse*\]

**More on romantic AI:** *[Redditor Claims They Fell in Love With OpenAI's Neural Network](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/redditor-claims-love-ai-gpt-2>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)