A man who has experienced nightmare dates with women he met online believed that a Tokyo government-related matchmaking service would provide a safe and perhaps last opportunity to find love.

But the not-for-profit organization that arranged the matchmaking event rejected the man’s application to attend after learning about his minor intellectual disability.

The organizer said in a notice that participants are “limited to mentally and physically healthy people.”

Although it has since apologized to the 44-year-old man, a company employee who lives in the capital, he still feels the sting of rejection.

“Getting married means that you choose your marriage partner, and your partner chooses you,” he said. “But I was not even allowed an opportunity toward that goal.”

The event, held in August, was designed for an even number of men and women in their 30s and 40s looking for marriage partners.

Participation fees were 8,500 yen ($58) for men in their 40s and 4,000 yen for women in the same age group.

The man signed up for the party in mid-July. But he later became worried about his eligibility due to his disability and contacted the organizer.

“I have a mild intellectual disability,” he wrote in the organization’s inquiry format available at the metropolitan government’s website. “But I work for a company as a regular employee. May I attend the party?”

About 20 minutes later, he received an email reply that told him his application was rejected.

“The event is targeted at people who are mentally and physically healthy based on our terms and conditions,” the text read. “Please let us cancel your entry.”

The sender also asked him to delete the organization’s email and said it will dispose of the personal information he had provided.

The metropolitan government’s Bureau of Citizens, Culture and Sport oversees the matchmaking portal that advertised the event.

The bureau lists marriage-hunting events each month on the website after assessing the organizers and details of the planned gatherings.

A bureau official told The Asahi Shimbun that it did not consider the organization’s statement concerning participants’ mental and physical fitness as a problem.

“It is their terms and conditions,” the official said.

But the bureau found fault with the way the organization treated the man after learning about his disability, and it temporarily suspended the organization’s event announcements on the website.

“There were things that the organization could have done, including asking him how to accommodate his needs, to ensure that he could attend the gathering,” the official said.

Bureau officials believe the organization may have infringed the revised law on eliminating discrimination against people with disabilities and the metropolitan government’s ordinance banning discriminatory treatment of people based on their disability.

The law and ordinance oblige administrative offices and business operators to “reasonably accommodate” people with disabilities to remove the social barriers they face.

In an interview with The Asahi Shimbun, a representative of the organization explained that the decision to deny the man’s entry was made in hopes of smooth operations at the gathering.

He said there were concerns that other participants might complain about the attendance of a disabled individual.

“The party was not aimed at making profits, and we are not equipped with the ability to provide support to disabled people,” the representative said. “We have operated in this manner for more than 10 years, and the metropolitan government has publicized our events on its website numerous times.”

But the organization reviewed its approach at the urging of metropolitan government officials and promised not to draw a line on attendance based on disability.

If a disabled participant hopes to attend a matchmaking event, the organization will ask the person about what support they may need and consider whether to accept their application.

The 44-year-old man has worked for a food store as a regular employee since graduating from a special needs school. He has no problem with daily conversations and lives by himself.

He said he had previously been in relationships, but he understands that some women may reject him because of his disability.

“I wanted to have a child and have family time,” he said of the reason he began looking for a marriage partner. “I was afraid that I was getting old.”

He registered with a dating app run by a private company around June.

But the results were disastrous.

On one occasion, a woman with whom he became acquainted via the app invited him to a bar and left him with an exorbitant bill.

Another time, his date—and the money in his wallet—disappeared when he briefly left his seat.

He applied for the organization’s matchmaking event after an acquaintance said that gatherings supported by the metropolitan government must be reliable.

“It took courage in confiding my disability, but I just ended up being rejected,” he said.

The organizer apologized to the man and explained in detail why it had denied his application.

According to the organization, the man has conveyed his intention to join a future event.

The metropolitan government resumed publishing notices of the organization’s matchmaking parties in October in light of its communication with the man.