The city of Miyazaki says hundreds of men and women have been writing old-fashioned letters since the matching plan was released two years ago. Although there were no wedding bells, the program had 32 face-to-face meetings and brought together 17 couples. About 450 people have registered so far – more than double the city’s initial estimate – with about 70% in their 20s or 30s. “It simply came to our notice then [than online dating]and it inspires you to imagine the person you are communicating with, “Ri Mijata, head of a local consulting firm that has run the project, told AFP. “It has less to do with how good your writing is and more to the fact that you write each character honestly and carefully, thinking deeply about the person you are writing to. That’s what makes the letters so powerful. “ Candidates are screened and paired based on information such as their taste in books and movies. Profiles are prohibited to encourage participants to base their decision on the other correspondent’s personality. Japanese city launches Miyazaki Koibumi letter writing campaign in 2020 Photo: miyazakikoibumi / Twitter Couples can send and receive up to five letters without revealing their name or address, according to the Mainichi Shimbun. If they wish to meet, the consulting firm provides them with contact information. After that, they are left to their own devices, the newspaper reported. The letter design is one of many efforts to encourage Japan’s lonely children to meet and possibly marry and start families as the country struggles with low birth rates and a shrinking population. The government has started funding artificial intelligence programs and in 2018 unmarried men from the mountain village of Otari created a diary showing them at work in the hope of finding love and companionship. Seigo Fujiwara, Japan Post distributor, from the Otari Village Annual Calendar in Otari, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Photo: Otari Village Office The number of babies born in Japan plunged to a record low of 811,604 last year – a statistic that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida described on Tuesday as “shocking”. The Japanese are now expected to have an average of 1.3 children, much lower than what is needed to keep the population at current levels. Reflecting social trends in other developed economies, more people choose to marry later or not at all. A recent government survey found that one in four unmarried 30-year-olds said they did not want to get married, with many saying they feared married life would be too expensive and violate their freedom. However, a 25-year-old man involved in Miyazaki’s arrest program said the idea brought back fond memories of his school days. “As a child I wrote letters to the girl I loved,” he said. “I like how old-fashioned the letters are. That made me want to participate. “
