【April Dream】Japan's Birthrate Declines for 10 Consecutive Years, 76% of Unmarried People Have No Partner. Transforming "Japan, the Country Where People Can't Marry" from the Front Lines of a Marriage Agency.

Our company endorses April Dream, an initiative to make April 1st a day to express dreams.

This press release is the dream of Bridal Salon HISAYO (Representative: Hisayo Matsumura), a marriage agency in Kyoto.

■ Japan's "marriage" is quietly breaking down.

The number of births in 2025 is 705,809.

This marks the 10th consecutive year of record lows, with the declining birthrate progressing 17 years faster than the government's future projections (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, "Vital Statistics Preliminary Report").

The number of marriages recovered to 505,656 couples, the first time in three years to exceed 500,000, but it is still the third lowest since the war.

The lifetime unmarried rate has reached 28.3% for men and 17.8% for women, and it is estimated that by 2040, one in three men and one in five women will remain unmarried for life.

Even more serious is the reality that 76% of unmarried people do not have a partner.

It's not that they "can't marry even if they want to," but rather that they "don't have the opportunity to meet anyone." Japan is quietly becoming a "country where people can't marry."

■ Why matching apps, a 109.4 billion yen market, are not increasing marriages.

The market size for matching apps as a means of marriage hunting has expanded to 109.4 billion yen.

However, the marriage success rate is only 2-17%.

A survey also shows that 57.6% of users reported "having a bad experience," and about 64% of people in their 30s and 40s feel "disadvantaged by age."

Technology has explosively increased the "quantity" of encounters. However, there is a lack of mechanisms to support the "final step" from matching to dating, and from dating to marriage. Algorithms can measure compatibility, but they cannot empathize with people's anxieties. What is needed for marriage is not the "number of options" but the "power of a supportive person." We, who have been on the front lines of marriage agencies for 29 years, are convinced of this.

■ 79.1% marriage success rate. The "human power" of a marriage agency that has created 430 families.

Bridal Salon HISAYO is a marriage agency with its own building in Shijo, Kyoto.

Its origin was the counter of the yakitori restaurant "Waraiya," where representative Hisayo Matsumura served as proprietress.

As she sensed "connections" between customers and naturally created opportunities for conversation, marriage reports began to pour in one after another.

Since opening the marriage agency in 1999, she has consistently maintained the stance of "seriously facing each individual in front of her."

・Marriage success rate: 79.1% (2025 actual, definition of marriage success is engagement)

・Number of successful marriages: Over 430 couples (cumulative from 2013-2025)

・National awards: Over 50 times (IBJ Award for 5 consecutive years, TMS Hall of Fame for 4 consecutive years, BIU Hall of Fame)

・Affiliated with the three major federations: IBJ, TMS, and BIU

The largest member network nationwide, unique counseling methods based on psychology, total production from escorting at omiai to fashion and makeup.

This "overly attentive support" is considered the essential value of a marriage agency that apps cannot replicate.

■ Dream ①: 1,000 successful marriages. Lowering the hurdles to marriage with an "ecosystem for encounters."

The barrier to marriage agencies is still high. The image of being a "last resort" keeps away those who truly need it. To change this structure, Bridal Salon HISAYO has built an "ecosystem for encounters" that goes beyond the framework of a marriage agency.

・Restaurant subscription matchmaking "Ankyo Kyoto": A casual meeting place that can be started from 3,300 yen per month at 20 restaurants nationwide.