The scene resembles a typical blind speed-dating event: 13 women and 13 men, seated on either side of a bamboo screen in a Tokyo restaurant.
But the doctor hovering on the fringes and the scientific documents held in the participant's hands, however, offer a hint that this is no ordinary dating event: for everyone attending has undergone a DNA test in a bid to find their best romantic match.
Forget hobbies, professions, ages or nose sizes: one critical new criteria for finding the perfect partner was recently added to Japan's fast-paced dating world, with the launch of a new service that promises to find love based on genetic compatibility.
The dating company Nozze is working with scientists at a Tokyo laboratory in order to decode the science of attraction and find the perfect match for its clients. The company staged its first "DNA Party" at a restaurant in Ginza this month — attended by 26 guests and resulting in four new couples — with more events planned, including a cruise.
Japan is grappling with something of an epidemic of singles who are unable to find a partner, an issue linked to the nation's low marriage and birth rates and doing little to help balance the ageing demographic of Japanese society. Last week, government figures revealed that almost half of Japanese singles who wished to marry were unable to find a suitable partner, with more than 60 per cent admitting they were not doing anything to change the situation.
