I'm Kon-chan. I tried all four kinds of matchmaking services and got married. Fair warning: there are more stumbles here than success stories.

In the two AI matchmaking programs I used, I was also introduced to people outside the criteria I had set. In Tokyo, those introductions made me think the accuracy "wasn't great." In my home prefecture, when I replied that I'd like to meet someone one year above my age range, my reaction was "genuinely happy" (I couldn't confirm whether that person came through an AI introduction).

If a friend told me they were unsure about trying AI matchmaking, I would recommend it. This article covers why, and how the AI introductions in the two programs differed.

• What I used: TOKYO縁結び (Tokyo Enmusubi), run by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and a matchmaking program run by my home prefecture. Both are local-government services where an AI introduces potential partners
• When: I registered for both in autumn 2024, my home prefecture's program slightly earlier. I used Tokyo Enmusubi for about two months, and stayed active in my home prefecture's program until around the first half of 2025
• What I paid: registration fees of ¥11,000 for Tokyo Enmusubi and ¥10,000 for my home prefecture, plus under ¥1,000 each to obtain a certificate of single status (all as of 2024)
• Me at the time: a man in his late 20s living in Tokyo, in my first year of looking for a partner
• Numbers (an omiai is a first meeting arranged through the program): Tokyo Enmusubi, 13 introductions (the cumulative total on my member page since registering) → 0 omiai. My home prefecture, 24 requests and introductions → 5 omiai → met 4 people → dated 2

I wrote about each program separately in my Tokyo Enmusubi review and using municipal matchmaking from Tokyo. The bullet train fares for traveling home to meet people came from my own situation of commuting from Tokyo, so I kept them in the article about my home prefecture.

This article focuses only on what the two programs have in common: the AI introductions.

By AI matchmaking, I mean matchmaking programs run by local governments. Tokyo Enmusubi's official page explains that an AI introduces compatible partners based on the results of a values assessment (as of October 2026).

When both sides reply that they'd like to meet, an omiai is arranged. The date and place are set through the program.

Separately from the AI introductions, you can also search and send requests yourself. There is, however, a limit on how many people you can request.

For Tokyo Enmusubi, the official pages say the following as of October 2026 (official page, FAQ):

• The registration fee is ¥11,000 (tax included) and is valid for two years
• It is open to single people aged 18 or older who want to marry and who live, work, or study in Tokyo
• Up to 4 AI introductions a month. Up to 6 requests a month through your own search
• The values assessment is optional

I'm not linking to my home prefecture's official page because I keep the region private. There, you could send up to 3 requests a month through your own search.

Besides Tokyo, other prefectures run AI matchmaking programs too. You can check your prefecture's website, or your home prefecture's, to see whether one exists. Fees and conditions vary by prefecture.

What the AI introductions draw on is the values assessment. According to my member pages, my assessment results were saved in both programs.

The questions were concrete situations with four choices, along the lines of "In this situation, what would you do?" As I remember it, there were about 40 of them. It took quite a while.

Tokyo Enmusubi's results split 12 values into "what I care about" and "what I want at minimum in a partner," and show each as a percentage. Here are my top three (autumn 2024).

My home prefecture's assessment showed a similar tendency in the values I care about.

Looking at them now, the values I care about still describe me well.

The partner side, to my mind, is half right and half off. The off one is "showing leadership." Back then, I wasn't particularly looking for leadership in a partner.

In Tokyo and in my home prefecture, introductions fell outside my criteria in different ways.

I had narrowed my preferences by four things: age, where the person lives, marital history and whether they have children, and not smoking. I barely changed them from start to finish.

My home prefecture's program came first. Because of that, I had high hopes for Tokyo, where I registered later.

"Tokyo has more members than the countryside, so I'll probably be introduced to people who suit me better!"

The stretch when I was waiting for introductions was when I felt most excited about the AI side of things. I was looking forward to it.

But the introductions that arrived included people 10 years older than my preferred age, people who had been married before, and people who clearly lived somewhere else. This isn't about anyone being a bad match as a person. They were simply people I had excluded with my criteria.

The period when those introductions arrived was my lowest point. In my own words at the time, the accuracy "wasn't great." My expectation that more members would mean better matches turned out to be way off.

There are two things about how Tokyo's program works that are worth knowing.

First, Tokyo Enmusubi isn't only for people who live in Tokyo. People who work or study in Tokyo can register too. As I understand it, that's why people living in nearby prefectures also show up in introductions.

Second, the FAQ as of October 2026 says that the "preferred age of your partner" on your profile is not reflected in AI introductions. If you want to change the age range for AI introductions, you contact the office.

I didn't know this while I was using it. I haven't confirmed whether it worked the same way in 2024.

In my home prefecture, too, I had chances to meet people outside my criteria. But the way they fell outside was different.

One person was one year older than the age limit I had set for my search. Even so, I liked the feel of their photos and we had a lot in common, so I replied that I'd like to meet.

"A little older, but I'm genuinely happy."

That was the voice in my head when I replied. We went on to a third date, and it ended when they declined. I couldn't confirm from my records whether that introduction came from the AI or from their request.

Another person I matched with told me something to the effect of "You came up in my AI introductions and I thought you seemed nice." I didn't see that as thanks to the AI. I took it that we were introduced because we had things in common, such as our backgrounds and the industries we work in.

As for why Tokyo stood out for introductions far outside my criteria while my home prefecture gave me a meeting I was happy about, I think it was just chance. I can't say for sure it was a difference in how the programs work.

Introductions arrive without you having to search.

In my home prefecture's program, you can send up to 3 requests a month yourself. I used them all up at the start of each month.

After that, for the rest of the month, I could only rely on AI introductions. Without them, I had no way to keep trying.

During that time, there was nothing I could do, and it was frustrating.

"This person looks great... but I used up my requests at the start of the month. So annoying!"

That was the voice in my head when I found someone promising in search but couldn't send a request anymore. My request allowance showed up only at the start of the month, like payday.

The other good thing is the one I mentioned earlier: people outside my criteria show up.

One hard part was the accuracy of the introductions I felt in Tokyo.

The other was not knowing why a particular person was introduced to me. It wasn't so much a problem as something that kept me wondering.

I would recommend local-government AI matchmaking to a friend who's unsure.

The reason is that people who get filtered out at the search-criteria stage when you only choose partners yourself might show up through AI introductions. It's like an unexpected stroke of luck, and I think that's the appeal. You may also meet people you wouldn't have picked yourself but who turn out to be not bad at all.

On top of that, AI accuracy should improve with more data, so I think it will get better over time. I used these programs in 2024, so this part is my own guess.

From my experience, it seems to suit people like these:

• People who are open to meeting someone slightly outside their criteria
• People who want introductions as one more way in, since the number of requests you can send yourself is limited

It may not suit people like these:

• People who only want to meet people who match their criteria exactly. In my case, Tokyo also sent introductions far outside my criteria
• People who want to send lots of requests themselves. There's a monthly limit, and once it's used up, all you can do is wait
• People who want to know why someone was introduced. I never did find out why

Looking back, even when someone was a little outside my criteria, I wish I had taken them seriously, because there might have been a chance.

If I used AI matchmaking again, when an introduction arrived, I wouldn't brush it off just because it was outside my criteria. I'd read the person's profile carefully all the way through. The person who made me think "a little older, but I'm genuinely happy" was one year outside my criteria, too.

Taking a break, quitting, and starting over are all part of it. Here's to matchmaking without overdoing it.

I also post about dating and matchmaking on X (@konchan_yurukon). If you'd like to keep up, I'd be glad to have you follow along.