Eyes flashing, robot conducts wedding in Tokyo.

Somebody asked, “Is that legal? A Robot, since the minister has to sign the Marriage License!”

The answer is that in Japan what the law requires is to update the family registers at the local government office. The ceremony may be important to the families, but it has no legal significance.

You may have heard that Christian weddings are very popular in Japan. What is usually not mentioned is that these usually take place in a replica church with an actor playing the part of the priest. A real priest, after all, won’t usually perform a wedding for people who are not members of his faith.

UPDATE: video here. It actually looks rather cute. The original headline gave me a mental image of a huge robot in an industrial setting laughing manically as it orders its brainwashed minions to get married. The reality is less colorful.