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受人口老龄化和低出生率影响，日本很多寺庙近年开始面临香火传承危机。为了让寺庙后继有人，寺庙僧侣以及尚未婚配的僧侣子女纷纷参加由佛教宗派组织的相亲会，寻找伴侣。在日本，佛教寺院的和尚是可以结婚生子的。但是，他们平日很难接触到女性，想要找到愿意嫁给和尚的女性就更难了。不过，在最近一次东京的和尚相亲会上，有位女士坦言，嫁给和尚在经济上比较有保障，不用担心公司破产或者被裁员。佛教近年来在日本受欢迎的程度急剧下降，很多寺庙都面临财政危机。于是，日本越来越多的寺庙开始发展新兴项目，如对外爵士乐休息室、美容沙龙、时装表演以及嘻哈音乐会等。 Japan's Buddhist monks are taking action in their mission to find successors to their temples – by attending matchmaking parties to find a wife. A number of matchmaking events involving Buddhist monks, who are permitted to marry and have families in Japan, have taken place in the capital. The daughters of temple owners without clear male successors have also been drawn to these events in order to meet potential monk husbands. Ageing populations and shrinking birthrates combined with the often solitary life of a monk have resulted in growing concerns surrounding the hereditary succession of temples. As a result, one such matchmaking event was recently organised by a consultation office at the headquarters of the Buddhist order Nichiren Shu. | 
