Photo/Illutration A profile on the dating app "Aill goen" (Yuji Yamashita)

A growing number of companies are introducing a matchmaking app called “Aill goen” as a fringe benefit for employees who are single.

The trend stems from companies recognizing that, compared to support for marriage, child and elderly care, their initiatives for workers without a partner are lacking.

Aill goen was launched in 2021 by a Tokyo-based operator backed by investors including Asahi Media Lab Ventures, a company affiliated with The Asahi Shimbun Co.

More than 1,500 companies and organizations have adopted the service, including major corporations such as Toyota Motor Corp. and MUFG Bank Ltd.

Before officially offering the app, companies must meet certain criteria, such as having robust child care support and promoting the active participation of women.

The aim is to prevent employees from leaving their jobs after marriage by connecting them with partners from other companies with similarly positive work environments.

Major credit card company Orient Corp., also known as Orico, introduced Aill goen as an employee benefit last April.

More than 40 percent of its employees are single.

While the company offers benefits such as child care leave, there was no support specifically focused on single employees.

Some departments work until 9 p.m. for customer service, with responsibilities often falling disproportionately to single members who covered for colleagues unable to work later hours due to child care and other reasons.

“Single employees don’t say anything, but they are under strain. I was thinking about whether we could reward such employees,” said Yuichiro Kayano, general manager of the company's career design promotion department.

Since its introduction until last November, 176 employees utilized the service and 17 of them began relationships.

The success rate was a surprise, Kayano said.

“I can’t believe this many people are starting to date,” he said. “If the company of the person they meet has robust child care leave, it becomes easier to continue their career later on. It would be good if this eliminates people unwillingly quitting the company due to marriage.”

Single employees at major rental housing construction firm Daito Trust Construction Co. had also been asking for more support such as increased perks and holidays off.

Anticipating the increased burden in workplaces where employees take leave for child or elder care, the company started a system last April to provide an allowance of up to 30,000 yen ($190) to other employees in the same department.

The app initiative was launched at the same time.

The fact that about 60 percent of the company's roughly 3,000 single employees are in their 20s or 30s and were familiar with meeting people through apps also spurred its adoption.

According to a survey last year by Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co., the most common way that couples who married within the last year met was through “matchmaking apps” at 30.4 percent.

At Daito Trust Construction, 163 people used the app from May to November 2025 with 14 of these starting relationships.

Related News