Japanese men can save the nation's low fertility rate. But marriage consultants say that men need to undergo reconstruction before the bachelors can be considered eligible for marriage.
That's the new and hot market in Japan right now to help polish men in their 30s in their appearance, manners and communication skills and even build a sense of urgency to find lifelong mates, according to Nikkei Associe magazine.
Bridegroom School, a nonprofit organization based in Nagoya, offers lectures and seminars. Kiyoharu Ohashi, marriage consultant and lecturer, tells the participants that they are running out of time and they need to get a move on.
Men can get better education or a raise in annual income, Ohashi says, but they can't fight their age.
The 37-year-old lecturer tells his students to tackle partner-hunting with the same vigor as they do at work. Men are to consider themselves as sales representatives selling merchandise -- themselves -- and women are the presidents of their best clients.
"Women have been slowly but surely polishing themselves," Ohashi says. "But men have not changed much and follow basically the same lifestyle and appearance as their 50-something counterparts."
That's a sure sign of failure. Japan is at a high risk of becoming a nation of lonely old men, he says.
Sunmark Life Creation Co opened a finishing school for men in November. A series of courses focus on manners and appearance and tips on dates. Fourteen sessions in basic and practical courses cost ?140,000 (US$1,200).
Other schools and services help men get their face waxed, color-coordinate their clothes and assess the personalities of women best matching their male clients.
Although men can invest in their clothing all they want and it is one of the first steps finishing schools and services recommend, they need most to build on their conversation skills, industry experts say.
Sadly enough, the communication skills many men lack is given as one of the reasons for the low marriage rate, leading to the worrisome low-fertility rate, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Japan marked the record low-fertility rate last year at 1.25, down from 1.29 a year before.
To help boost men's communication skills and the nation's youngsters mate for life, the government has decided to seek know-how of these marriage consultation services and push them to get better mating results.
The marriage consultation services have built up to nationwide memberships of about 600,000 people.
MONEY GRAB: People were rushing to collect bills scattered on the ground after the plane transporting money crashed, which an official said hindered rescue efforts A cargo plane carrying money on Friday crashed near Bolivia’s capital, damaging about a dozen vehicles on highway, scattering bills on the ground and leaving at least 15 people dead and others injured, an official said. Bolivian Minister of Defense Marcelo Salinas said the Hercules C-130 plane was transporting newly printed Bolivian currency when it “landed and veered off the runway” at an airport in El Alto, a city adjacent to La Paz, before ending up in a nearby field. Firefighters managed to put out the flames that engulfed the aircraft. Fire chief Pavel Tovar said at least 15 people died, but
LIKE FATHER, LIKE DAUGHTER: By showing Ju-ae’s ability to handle a weapon, the photos ‘suggest she is indeed receiving training as a successor,’ an academic said North Korea on Saturday released a rare image of leader Kim Jong-un’s teenage daughter firing a rifle at a shooting range, adding to speculation that she is being groomed as his successor. Kim’s daughter, Ju-ae, has long been seen as the next in line to rule the secretive, nuclear-armed state, and took part in a string of recent high-profile outings, including last week’s military parade marking the closing stages of North Korea’s key party congress. Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released a photo of Ju-ae shooting a rifle at an outdoor shooting range, peering through a rifle scope
India and Canada yesterday reached a string of agreements, including on critical mineral cooperation and a “landmark” uranium supply deal for nuclear power, the countries’ leaders said in New Delhi. The pacts, which also covered technology and promoting the use of renewable energy, were announced after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney hailed a fresh start in the relationship between their nations. “Our ties have seen a new energy, mutual trust and positivity,” Modi said. Carney’s visit is a key step forward in ties that effectively collapsed in 2023 after Ottawa accused New Delhi
Gaza is rapidly running out of its limited fuel supply and stocks of food staples might become tight, officials said, after Israel blocked the entry of fuel and goods into the war-shattered territory, citing fighting with Iran. The Israeli military closed all Gaza border crossings on Saturday after announcing airstrikes on Iran carried out jointly with the US. Israeli authorities late on Monday night said that they would reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel to Gaza yesterday, for “gradual entry of humanitarian aid” into the strip, without saying how much. Israeli authorities previously said the crossings could not be operated safely during
RSS