Speed Dating in Japan

It's not everybody's idea of romance: meeting a rapid succession of people from the opposite sex, with bare minutes to make a connection before a bell signals it's time to move on.

In Japan, though, some are paid for by the government. The hope is that by encouraging people to date, marry and start a family, the current demographic trend leading towards a shrinking population can be arrested. It might not seem the most obvious scheme to tackle a falling birth rate, but it has proved extremely popular, and speed dating events happen across Japan every night of the week.

At one event in central Tokyo, run by a firm called Exeo, 20 men and women cram into a small upstairs room in the hope of finding somebody special. Each pairing gets two minutes, before everyone swaps partners. Some couples seem to hit off instantly, while others are shy and conversation is muted. "I don't have a girlfriend and it's difficult to meet women at work, so that's why I am here" says Hiroshi Nakahara, an office worker. "I'm embarrassed to be doing this."

Many of the people at the party seems to echo the same problems. They spend a long time in the office and so they have little time to invest in finding love. "It's becoming harder to meet suitable partners these days and that's one reason why people are getting married later," says party organiser Natsuko Minami. "Women used to be able to rely on family introductions, such as aunts who arranged meeting a suitable man. But that's not happening much any more. Women now have to find lovers on their own."

Adapted from BBC Business News April 26th 2006

chinese translation | japanese translation | korean translation