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Japan's government is going to play Cupid in an attempt to [encouragement / encourage] more couples to have babies. The country has [one / two] of the lowest birth rates in the world and politicians are turning to [bookish / novel] methods to get people to [add / plus] to the population. One of these methods is local authorities acting [has / as] matchmakers. Japan's national government will support any local government effort at [speed / sped] dating, online matchmaking and other ways to [hoax / coax] couples to get together and start families. The [draft / drafty] recommendations call for intensive efforts over the next five years. The report says Japan [faces / facing] a "critical situation" in which the [dwindling / tingling] number of children could cause serious social problems for the country.

One reason the government has found for Japan's [failing / falling] birth rate is the [rising / risen] cost of raising children. The government hopes to address this with a [variety / various] of measures. These include plans to improve access to [freely / free] nursery care, special centres for people undergoing fertility treatment, and a target to increase the number of fathers taking [paternity / paternal] leave after their baby is born to 80 per cent by the year 2020. There are also plans to [provision / provide] greater support for families with three or [more / most] children. By 2060, nearly 40 per cent of Japan’s population will be [ages / aged] over 65. The over-65s already [constitute / consider] 25 per cent of the population. The birth rate has fallen [steadily / steady] from 4.54 children per mother in 1947 to just 1.42 in 2014.