In Japan, the number of people who do not marry is increasing every year. The percentage of unmarried people at the age of 50 is about 28% for men and 18% for women as of 2020 (from the Cabinet Office's Gender Equality White Paper, 2022 version). Omicale, Inc. which aims to resolve this social challenge from the angle of marriage hunting, overhauled its management structure in February 2024. They are accelerating business expansion, including strengthening cooperation with local governments and private companies.
We sat down with the company's president, Masato Shimonagata, and its CSO, Shota Inoue, to talk about their business and growth strategy, with added insight from JAFCO's investment professional in charge, Shohei Fujimori.
【Profile】
Masato Shimonagata, President, Omicale, Inc.
Masato Shimonagata joined Recruit Co., Ltd. (now Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd.) in 2006. Thereafter, he worked in e-commerce digital transformation at Misumi Co., Ltd., management planning at Enageed Co., Ltd., assuming his current role in 2024.
Shota Inoue, CSO, Omicale, Inc.
Shota Inoue joined Growin' Partners Inc. in 2017. He was engaged in accounting and financial consulting as well as RPA and other implementation consulting. In 2019, he joined Omicale Inc. He served as business manager and CFO and assumed his current position in 2024.
【About Omicale, Inc.】
Omicale, Inc. operates the marriage hunting party platform Omicale aimed at individuals earnestly seeking a marriage partner. It launched its services in 2013 and now ranks among the top in Japan in terms of numbers of party listings. In 2021, it released the video chat matchmaking app Omicale Live. The company is also actively collaborating with local governments and private companies, such as through its business partnership with Tottori Prefecture, to jointly create opportunities for serious encounters for men and women engaged in matchmaking.
New president takes on the post-pandemic era of "Meeting 4.0"
─ Mr. Shimonagata, you have been leading Omicale as president since February 2024. Please tell us about your career before that.
Shimonagata After joining Recruit as a new graduate, I was involved in business strategy for a job advertisement business. Initially, I aspired to become a politician and joined Recruit to learn business acumen and financial management. However, through my work in the human resources industry, I discovered the satisfaction of being involved in transforming industrial structures and creating new industries. This made me want to address social issues through business rather than politics. Subsequently, I served as a business manager and director at two companies before joining Omicale through an offer from JAFCO.
Masato Shimonagata, President
─ What made you choose Omicare for your new challenge?
Shimonagata Having been in the human resources and education field, I was initially surprised to hear about a marriage hunting support company. However, my wife said to me that it's great to have a business that can achieve both individual happiness and solve social issues. Indeed, supporting people on their path to find a life partner is genuinely fulfilling, and tackling the significant challenge of the declining birthrate, which is a visible yet unsolved issue, is highly motivating.
─ What are the realities behind Japan's increasing rate of unmarried people and declining birthrate?
Shimonagata While some people have no intention of getting married, the most common reason for being single is not being able to meet the right person. The decline in opportunities to meet people is linked to Japan's population decline. If we consider the marriageable age to be 20-39, the population in this age range has decreased by 8.2 million over the past 20 years. This represents a one-quarter decrease of the population in this age range from 20 years ago. While urban areas haven't changed much, some rural areas have seen their populations halve. Thus, it has become increasingly difficult for people of marriageable age to meet peers, even when walking around town.
─ Considering that the population will continue to decline in the future, this is a serious problem. Has the COVID-19 pandemic also significantly impacted people's opportunities of meeting potential partners?
Shimonagata Yes, during the pandemic, when it was difficult to meet others in person, the opportunities to meet potential partners also decreased significantly. Although the market for marriage hunting support has been gradually recovering as the pandemic measures have relaxed, it hasn't fully returned to normal. The pandemic has shifted our needs when it comes to meeting, ushering in an era of "Meeting 4.0" where the focus is on enhancing the quality of meetings.
In my parents' generation, arranged marriages and workplace marriages were common, but then it became normal to marry for love. As Japan's population grew, events like matchmaking parties and large-scale gatherings to meet partners became popular. I refer to this phase as "Meeting 2.0." Then came "Meeting 3.0" with the rise of matchmaking apps driven by technological advancements. It was further boosted by the pandemic. This broadened the scope of meeting partners significantly, shifting the focus from "getting to know the person" to "choosing whom to meet."
Now that the pandemic has subsided, users' interests have shifted to considering what kind of meeting method will lead to a better real-life encounter when meeting in person. We have now entered the "Meeting 4.0" phase. While it's great that matchmaking apps have expanded the scope of how people meet, when it comes to actually meeting in person, the method is left to the users. It's not exactly well-designed. In the "Meeting 4.0" era, we believe that it will be important to create mechanisms to enhance the quality of encounters, addressing situations such as where a date could have developed if the form of communication had been different, or where someone who was not chosen due to not meeting the criteria might have actually been a good match.
Capitalizing on a user base highly committed to marriage to strengthen pilot experiments and business collaborations
─ What are the characteristics of the Omicale marriage matchmaking party platform?
Shimonagata Omicale is one of Japan's largest marriage matchmaking party platforms, with over 20,000 party listings and approximately 800,000 members. The platform's size is notable, but what stands out even more is that the majority of our members are seriously looking for marriage partners. Unlike other platforms that are for lighter relationships like dating or friendships, Omikale is specifically focused on events for finding marriage partners.
While such events are often concentrated in urban areas, our platform features events nationwide. We also propose events to organizers in areas where there is demand, encouraging them to hold events in rural regions as well.
─ Have there been any changes in the user base and response to Omicale now that we're in the age of "Meeting 4.0"?
Shimonagata Since the pandemic has subsided, we have seen a significant increase in members in their 20s, with the number increasing by about 82% compared to pre-pandemic levels. This shift, with the arrival of "Meeting 4.0," indicates a change in needs from "meeting many people" through matching apps to "meeting in real life" and "enhancing the quality of encounters" through matchmaking parties and other events.
─ It is interesting to see changes in the generation that's taken matchmaking apps for granted. How does Omicale plan to respond to the changing needs of the "Meeting 4.0" era?
Shimonagata Enhancing the quality of encounters involves users understanding each other's true character from the start and creating an environment conducive to emotional exchange. When emotional exchange occurs, people are more likely to develop positive feelings toward each other, increasing the chances of forming a lasting connection.
Our experience running a marriage matchmaking party platform has allowed us to explore which forms of communication are most likely to foster emotional exchange. In the "Meeting 4.0" era, our mission is to leverage this knowledge to adapt to changing user needs and create new markets. By actively incorporating mechanisms to enhance the quality of encounters into our events, we aim to redesign the way people meet.
─ What have you started to work on for redesigning the way we people meet?
Shimonagata Previously, we were solely focused on our role as a platform provider, but after revamping our management structure, we also shifted our business policy. In this era of "Meeting 4.0," we have started conducting marriage events and pilot experiments ourselves to work towards redesigning the way people meet. We are examining what kind of events are meaningful for participants and which are more likely to lead to future connections. We verify this ourselves and provide feedback to event organizers, working together to create better places for encounters. We plan to continue these activities regularly to accumulate know-how. We also intend to increase joint experiments in collaboration with event organizers.
─ I think Omicale's user base is also attractive to municipalities working to address rising unmarried rates and declining birth rates. Is there any collaboration going on?
Inoue Yes, I would like speak to that. In terms of business collaborations, on March 30, 2024, we signed a partnership agreement with Tottori Prefecture to create opportunities for serious encounters. Tottori Prefecture, which has the smallest population of all Japanese prefectures, has established a department called the Child-Rearing Kingdom Department and is actively working on the challenge of a declining birth rate. Together with Tottori Prefecture, we will hold marriage seminars and events, providing highly effective support towards successful marriages. Most recently, we have been planning to hold a matchmaking event for 100 people at the Tottori Sand Dunes on May 25.
Many local governments, not just Tottori Prefecture, face the challenge of not being able to attract participants for marriage events. Often, their promotional media are local information magazines, making it difficult to reach younger people. Additionally, it is sometimes difficult to attract women to these matchmaking events.
At Omicale, we maintain a very high monthly participant number as 58% of our members are women who are seriously considering marriage. Through event listings on Omicale and collaborative events, we aim to support local governments in creating opportunities for encounters, focusing not only on the level of prefectures but also of cities and towns.
Shota Inoue, CSO
─ It seems like there are various opportunities for collaboration not only with local governments but also with private companies.
Inoue That's right. Recently, we have planned a collaboration involving our company, a telephone fortune-telling service provider, and a party organizer to incorporate new forms of matchmaking into events. While the primary purpose of matchmaking parties is encounters, we want participants to feel that attending was valuable, even if only a little bit.
For a harmonious married life, it's crucial that values align. Thus, collaborations with companies involved in aspects of daily living like finance and real estate might be beneficial. Expanding alliances into various fields to create better meeting places and sharing these initiatives with other event organizers is something we, as a platform provider, can uniquely do. We intend to actively pursue these challenges.
─ From an investment professional's point of view, what do you find attractive about Omicale?
Fujimori The ability to design and propose new meeting places by involving matchmaking party organizers and alliance partners from different industries in response to user needs and societal changes is a unique strength and intriguing aspect of a platform provider like Omicale. The company's small but elite team is impressive, each member working with autonomy and pride. I believe Omicale has the potential and the foundation to achieve a socially significant business.
Shohei Fujimori, JAFCO's investment professional in charge
Revamped Omicale aiming to redesign the way people meet
─ What are your long-term plans for redesigning the way people meet?
Shimonagata Going forward, we need to design the before and after of encounters. For example, for the "before" phase, we could recommend meaningful events to users in advance. For the "after" phase, we could navigate users towards meeting again with potential matches they might not have connected with much during the event. We want to focus on initiatives that fully utilize the user data we have as a platform provider.
Additionally, we are considering tracking the stages beyond meetings, such as dating and marriage, to create a system that ensures successful outcomes.
─ In terms of technology, how do you think AI will affect the way people meet in the future?
Shimonagata AI text generators like ChatGPT are already at a stage where they can be immediately utilized. For instance, AI programs could provide insight about how somebody might feel about a particular message when communicating via text. Training in empathetic conversation for face-to-face meetings is also feasible with further technological advancements.
Inoue Recently, virtual space-based "metaverse matchmaking" using avatars has garnered attention, with growing interest from municipalities. While the lack of external visual cues allows for a deeper understanding of each other's inner qualities, it also risks creating a gap between virtual and real-life interactions. Thus, opinions are divided at this stage. We plan to consider the combination of online and offline elements together rather than separately.
─ You will probably be putting effort into recruitment for future initiatives. What skills are you looking for in potential hires?
Shimonagata When designing the before and after of meetings, the expertise of engineers proficient in data analytics and infrastructure is indispensable. We also want to strengthen the business development positions to create meeting opportunities together with event organizers. We are looking for individuals who can enhance both user value and profitability.
─ Apart from skills, what other qualities are you seeking? Please share a message of encouragement.
Shimonagata Engaging in the matchmaking business requires taking actions to expand and transform the market. It's not just about riding the wave of a growing market. Although there are challenging moments, getting to pioneer the market with your own hands is invaluable. We hope to take on challenges unique to this moment, together with those who find fulfillment in this endeavor.
Inoue Now that the pandemic has subsided, societal needs have changed, and we have revamped our management structure. It's the perfect phase to create new approaches to encounters and matchmaking. For those who have a strong desire to create something from scratch and transform the industry, this is an incredibly exciting phase. We would love for such individuals to join us.
Fujimori When focusing on creating places for people to meet, it can be challenging to see the overall market trends. It's essential to take a step back, understand the market calmly and objectively, and thoroughly consider what is needed as a meeting place, and then implement those insights in practice. Omicale needs individuals who can do this. This is a business where you can easily see the results of your ideas, so we expect you to voice your thoughts candidly, put them into action, and pioneer the market.
From left: Taishi Mizutani, JAFCO; Shota Inoue, Omicale; Masato Shimonagata, Omicale; Shohei Fujimori, JAFCO; Rika Allen, JAFCO
Comments from the investment professional in charge, Shohei Fujimori
The vision of Omicale, which operates one of Japan's largest matchmaking event portals, is to "make 'zero encounters' a thing of the past." According to data from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the number of marriages in Japan in 2023 was 490,000, falling below 500,000 for the first time since World War II. As the number of marriages declines and Japan rapidly ages, the social significance of the services provided by Omicale will be substantial. Omicale's role is to continue offering appropriate venues for those seeking serious relationships. With the rise of matchmaking apps, the ways people meet have changed significantly, necessitating a redefinition of the value provided by matchmaking events. Together with President Shimonagata and all the members of Omicale, JAFCO is committed to continuing to invigorate the marriage hunting market.
