Japan’s Kochi prefecture is offering financial incentives to get young singles to use dating apps, one of a range of initiatives to combat declining birthrates.

People aged 20 to 39 in the southwestern region can receive up to 20,000 yen ($125) to cover most of the cost of approved matchmaking apps, including popular ones like Tapple.

Officials say that the subsidy roughly matches annual fees for using the dating sites and that users will be surveyed later to see if the scheme works.

Kochi prefecture reportedly teamed up with Tapple in December to encourage safer and more reliable online dating.

“The going rate for annual membership fees is a little over 20,000 yen, so we set the amount to cover most of the cost,” a prefectural official was quoted as saying by Sankei Shimbun.

Other regions such as Miyazaki prefecture have tried similar support, though with smaller amounts of up to 10,000 yen.

Reactions online have been mixed. While some people have welcomed the idea, others have argued that deeper issues like financial stress, long working hours, and the expense of raising children were making relationships and marriage difficult.

Dating apps are a common way for young people in Japan to meet partners.

A 2024 government survey found that roughly one in four married people under 39 met their spouse online, more than through work or school.

Japan’s population challenges have worsened in recent years, especially in rural regions like Kochi, where many young people have moved away.

The country saw nearly a million more deaths than births in 2024 in the largest annual population decline since records began six decades ago. The data from that year from the Ministry of Internal Affairs showed only 686,061 births, the lowest since 1899, and as many as 1.59 million deaths.

The population not only fell for the 16th straight year, it saw the steepest decline since Japan started collecting comparable data in 1950.

Last year in August, it was reported that Japan’s birthrate had fallen to its lowest level on record, marking the ninth straight year of decline despite government efforts to reverse the trend. About 720,000 babies were born in 2024, a drop of roughly 5 per cent from the year before.

The World Bank ranks Japan as having the world’s second-oldest population, surpassed only by Monaco.

Japanese authorities have previously used a number of measures to boost birthrates, including expanding childcare facilities, offering housing subsidies, and even launching a government-run dating app.

In more drastic measures, the Tokyo metropolitan government, one of the country’s largest employers, last year launched an experimental four-day work week for employees.