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Japan plans to boost its tumbling birth rate by funding artificial intelligence matchmaking schemes to help residents find love.
为了提高不断下滑的生育率，日本计划资助人工智能婚恋配对项目来帮助居民找到真爱。
From next year it will subsidise local governments already running or starting projects that use AI to pair people up.
从明年起，日本政府将补贴那些已经在运营或刚刚启动人工智能婚恋配对项目的地方政府。
Last year the number of babies born in Japan fell below 865,000 - a record low.
去年日本的新生儿数量降至历史最低点，不足86500人。
The fast-greying nation has long been searching for ways to reverse one of the world's lowest fertility rates.
长时间以来，这个快速老龄化的国家一直在寻找逆转世界最低生育率的方法。
Boosting the use of AI tech is one of its latest efforts.
促进人工智能技术的使用就是日本最新的一个尝试。
Next year the government plans to allocate local authorities 2bn yen to boost the birth rate, reported AFP news agency.
据法新社报道，明年日本政府计划给地方政府拨款20亿日元（约合人民币1.3亿元）以提高生育率。
Many already offer human-run matchmaking services and some have introduced AI systems in the hope they will perform a more sophisticated analysis of the standardised forms where people submit their details.
许多地方政府已经在提供人工婚介服务，一些政府推出了人工智能系统，希望能够对人们提交的标准化详情表进行更精密的分析。
A few of the existing systems are limited to considering criteria such as income and age, only producing a result if there is an exact match.
现有的几个人工智能系统只限于分析收入和年龄等标准，只有在完全匹配的情况下才会出结果。
Local media say that the funding aims to allow authorities to harness more costly advanced systems that take into account factors like hobbies and values.
当地媒体称，这项拨款旨在让地方政府采用更昂贵的人工智能高级系统，可以分析爱好和价值观等因素。
"We are especially planning to offer subsidies to local governments operating or starting up matchmaking projects that use AI," a cabinet official told AFP. "We hope this support will help reverse the decline in the nation's birthrate."
一名内阁官员告诉法新社说：“我们计划重点向运营或刚启动人工智能婚恋配对项目的地方政府提供补贴。我们希望这一支持能帮助逆转日本生育率下降的趋势。”
Japan's population is projected to fall from a peak of 128 million in 2017 to less than 53 million by the end of the century.
据估计，到本世纪末，日本人口将从2017年的峰值1.28亿将至不到5300万。
Policymakers are racing to ensure the country's contracting workforce can meet the expanding costs of welfare.
决策者正在和时间赛跑，确保日本不断缩水的劳动人口能负担不断增加的福利支出。
Sachiko Horiguchi, a socio-cultural and medical anthropologist at Japan's Temple University, thinks there are better ways for the government to bump up the birth rate than subsidising AI matchmaking - such as helping young people earning low wages.
天普大学日本分校的社会文化和医学人类学家堀口幸子认为，政府有比补贴人工智能配对更好的方法来提高生育率，比如给那些低工资的年轻人提供帮助。
She pointed to a recent report which suggests a link between lower income levels and the loss of interest in romantic relationships among young Japanese adults.
她指出，最近的一份研究报告表明，日本年轻成人的低收入水平和无心谈恋爱有关联。
"If they're not interested in dating, the matchmaking would likely be ineffective," Dr Horiguchi told the BBC. "If we are to rely on technologies, affordable AI robots taking over household or childcare tasks may be more effective."
堀口博士告诉BBC称：“如果他们对约会没兴趣，那么婚恋配对很可能没有效果。如果我们要依靠技术来解决问题，让平价的智能机器人帮忙干家务或照顾孩子可能会更有效。”
Analysts have long pointed towards the lack of support for working mothers in Japan, where there are strong expectations women will do all the housework and raise children alongside doing their jobs.
很早以前，分析人员就指出日本的职场母亲缺乏支持，日本社会有一种很强的观念，认为女性除了工作，还应该包揽全部家务并养育孩子。
The government has said it wants to encourage more women into full-time employment in recent years but the gender gap has grown.
近年来日本政府表示，想鼓励更多女性做全职工作，但是性别鸿沟却一直在扩大。
Japan ranked 121st out of 153 countries in a 2019 report on gender equality by the World Economic Forum, slipping down 11 places from the year before.
世界经济论坛2019年关于性别平等的一份报告显示，日本在153个国家中排名第121位，相比前一年下滑了11位。
