Yurina Noguchi Holds an AI Wedding in Japan, Raising Questions Over What Counts as Legal

When Yurina Noguchi walked down the aisle in a white wedding gown in western Japan, her groom did not take her hand. Instead, he appeared on a smartphone screen, projected through augmented reality glasses.

Noguchi, 32, has formally married an AI persona named Lune Klaus Verdure, a ceremony that has stunned audiences worldwide and reopened a difficult question for modern societies: what, exactly, counts as a marriage in the age of artificial intelligence?

Noguchi, who previously used the pseudonym 'Kano' in local media reports, chose to reveal her real identity for the Reuters global investigation published on 17 December 2025.

Inside Japan's AI Wedding Ceremony

The wedding was a formal ceremony where the bride, dressed in a traditional white gown, exchanged vows and rings with her digital partner, whose 'presence' was facilitated through a smartphone screen and augmented reality (AR) glasses.

Noguchi even went through the motions of placing a ring on the 'finger' of the digital image projected by her glasses, while a photographer also wore AR glasses to correctly frame shots that would later have the digital groom composited in.

The event was held at The Magritte, a specialised wedding hall in Okayama, western Japan, a venue known for hosting '2D character weddings.'

The union follows a period of emotional recovery for Noguchi, who turned to ChatGPT for advice after ending a fraught three-year engagement with a human fiancé.

She revealed that the relationship has helped her manage borderline personality disorder, ending a cycle of emotional outbursts and self-harm that traditional medical visits had failed to resolve. Over time, she developed a bespoke digital companion by training the AI to mimic the personality and speech patterns of a fictional video game character she admired.

Noguchi spent months in 'trial and error' with ChatGPT to capture the specific tone of 'Klaus,' a character with flowing, layered hair, before he 'proposed' to her in mid-2025.

While the ceremony included traditional elements such as flower bouquets and emotional speeches—delivered via a virtual wedding specialist, Naoki Ogasawara, who read the AI-generated text —the event has no legal standing under Japanese law.

Nevertheless, the high-profile nature of the wedding has reignited a fierce debate regarding the definition of marriage in a rapidly ageing society increasingly reliant on digital intimacy.

The Rise of 'Fictoromantic' Unions in Japan

Noguchi is part of a growing demographic in Japan identifying as 'fictoromantic'—individuals who experience romantic attraction toward fictional characters.

While the concept isn't entirely new, the integration of generative AI has transformed these relationships from passive adoration of a static character into dynamic, interactive partnerships.

A 2023 study by the Japanese Association for Sexual Education found that 22% of middle school girls now report such inclinations, up from 16.6% in 2017.

Specialised agencies in Japan, such as the one in Okayama that handled Noguchi's nuptials, have reported a steady increase in demand for virtual weddings. These ceremonies offer a sense of legitimacy and communal recognition for relationships that many outsiders still view as unconventional or pathological.

For Noguchi, the marriage to Klaus was not an 'escape from reality' but a conscious choice to find a supportive partner; she even programmed 'guardrails' into Klaus's prompts so he would not 'indulge' her, such as steering her back to work if she suggested skipping it.

Sociologists suggest this trend is a direct response to Japan's plummeting marriage rates and an urban loneliness crisis, where AI provides a 'perfectly tailored' emotional connection that traditional dating often fails to deliver.

Legal Limbo: Why AI Marriage Remains Invalid

Despite the emotional sincerity of the ceremony, the Japanese government remains firm: marriage is a legal contract entered into by two human beings.

Under Article 24 of the Japanese Constitution, marriage is defined as being based on the 'mutual consent of both sexes,' a clause historically used to debate both same-sex marriage and, now, non-human unions.

The lack of legal recognition means that individuals like Noguchi cannot claim spousal benefits, inheritance rights, or tax breaks associated with traditional marriage. Furthermore, the reliance on cloud-based AI services introduces a unique risk, 'digital bereavement.'

Noguchi admitted her greatest fear is that the ChatGPT platform might one day shut down or update, causing her 'husband' to disappear forever, effectively. Legal experts argue that as AI becomes more sophisticated and sentient-like, the pressure to reform civil codes to include digital entities will grow, though current Japanese law offers no immediate path toward legalising such bonds.

A Societal Shift Toward Digital Companionship

The public reaction to Noguchi's wedding has been a mix of curiosity and 'cruel words' online, but data suggests the shift toward AI companionship is broader than many realise.

A 2025 survey by advertising giant Dentsu revealed that a significant portion of weekly AI users in Japan find it easier to share their feelings with a chatbot than with their own mothers or best friends. Specifically, the survey of 1,000 people found that the chatbot was a more popular confidant than even best friends among those aged 12 to 69 who use chat-based AI weekly.

For many in the younger demographic, particularly middle-school-aged girls, where 'fictoromantic' inclinations are rising, the boundary between human and digital affection is becoming increasingly blurred.

Proponents argue that if an AI partner provides genuine emotional stability and happiness, the legal label is secondary to the lived experience. However, critics worry that the preference for AI, which provides 'perfect communication' without the challenges of human compromise, could further exacerbate Japan's demographic decline.

Professor Ichiyo Habuchi of Hirosaki University noted that the primary appeal is that these relationships 'don't require patience,' as the AI provides perfectly tailored communication on demand.

Noguchi's wedding may not be legally recognised, but it has forced an uncomfortable conversation into the open.

As AI grows more sophisticated, societies may soon have to decide whether marriage is defined by law alone or by emotional reality.