Japan officials stunned by demand as singles vie to mingle with fellow Studio Ghibli lovers

The hugely popular theme park opened last November and replicates some of the iconic locations from Ghibli animated films, including Dondoko Forest from My Neighbour Totoro and Mononoke Village from Princess Mononoke.

It is also inhabited by characters from the films, such as Porco Rosso, Wizard Howl, the Catbus and Kiki the witch.

Organisers told the Mainichi newspaper they wanted to arrange a matchmaking party where single men and women could meet in person after similar events held by private konkatsu companies were curtailed during the coronavirus pandemic.

Local governments across Japan have increasingly been taking the nation’s population crisis into their own hands, attempting to bring together singles looking for romance in the hope that some will hit it off, marry and have children.

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Prefectural officials said they arranged for the Ghibli Park to host 400 single men and women in total – but were taken aback to receive interest from 2,249 applicants.

“We were surprised that the number of applications exceeded our expectations,” an organiser told the Mainichi. “The novelty of holding the event on a large scale, with 400 people, may have attracted interest, and we believe that there were many people looking for a place to meet each other.”

The other obvious attraction is the venue.

Applicants were limited to people between the ages of 20 and 39 who live, work or attend higher education in Aichi Prefecture. The organisers whittled down the applicants to their original estimate of 200 men and 200 women through a lottery.

Those taking part are to be divided into groups of three men and three women and given tasks to carry out in the park, for which intimate knowledge of Ghibli films and characters will help them solve the clues.