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I spent a relaxed afternoon reading some old articles about Japanese men and their lack of interest in courting women. One article that was about so called "Herbivore Men" said that this was mostly due to "distractions" such as the electronic entertainment culture, life aiding machines and even virtual girlfriends which was partly brought by economic success and independence. Another said the bursting of economic bubble in the 90s created slow growth making men averse to taking risks avoiding relationships altogether. Which one is it then? I thought a slow economy would make up people shack together to help out each other as in examples from the great depression of the 30s. So what would the effect of Covid-19 and associated crises and slowdown on world economy do to this problem?
It's somewhat more complicated than technology removing the need for a man to date. One of the bigger contributors, as I understood it, was the clash of traditional Japanese family and social mores and modern life. Working from 7am to 9pm and being expected to socialize after that isn't conductive to having a warm family life; you have a couple generations of Japanese people who have grown up in this reality and don't view family life as something worth pursuing or attaining. The foundations for pursuing individual happiness were laid in the postwar years, gained momentum in the 80's and 90's, and were cemented by the 00's. There is less of a feeling of "shame" for not following traditional family models and instead focusing on personal fulfillment than there was; you see Korea and China also developing similar social undercurrents as the cost of raising a family skyrockets, and modern urban life finds itself at odds with the practical requirements to raise a family.
So, I see the proliferation of dating sims (which have existed in Japan since the 90's), virtual girlfriends, obsessive/life-dominating hobbies, etc less as something that has caused men to walk away from real relationships so much as something that has taken hold as a result of difficulties surrounding dating and marriage in Japanese society.
Another couple points to make:
1) it's not just men. There are also many women who don't date or have relationships into middle age and beyond. There are plenty of women who have no romantic relationships and instead collect toys, watch anime, play video games, have virtual boyfriends, etc. One of my friends who lived in Japan for many years said that she had female coworkers who were like this. When she asked if they had ever thought of trying to find a boyfriend, they'd say things like, "[famous singer/actor] is my boyfriend!" or "oh, it's too much work."
2) while it's certainly an issue, it's not something that's totally endemic in Japanese society; plenty of people still date, have relationships, marry, have kids, etc. There's obviously nothing wrong with studying it or showing an interest in the topic but it's too bad that there's a growing perception that this is the average guy in Japan.
It's somewhat more complicated than technology removing the need for a man to date. One of the bigger contributors, as I understood it, was the clash of traditional Japanese family and social mores and modern life. Working from 7am to 9pm and being expected to socialize after that isn't conductive to having a warm family life; you have a couple generations of Japanese people who have grown up in this reality and don't view family life as something worth pursuing or attaining. The foundations for pursuing individual happiness were laid in the postwar years, gained momentum in the 80's and 90's, and were cemented by the 00's. There is less of a feeling of "shame" for not following traditional family models and instead focusing on personal fulfillment than there was; you see Korea and China also developing similar social undercurrents as the cost of raising a family skyrockets, and modern urban life finds itself at odds with the practical requirements to raise a family.
So, I see the proliferation of dating sims (which have existed in Japan since the 90's), virtual girlfriends, obsessive/life-dominating hobbies, etc less as something that has caused men to walk away from real relationships so much as something that has taken hold as a result of difficulties surrounding dating and marriage in Japanese society.
Another couple points to make:
1) it's not just men. There are also many women who don't date or have relationships into middle age and beyond. There are plenty of women who have no romantic relationships and instead collect toys, watch anime, play video games, have virtual boyfriends, etc. One of my friends who lived in Japan for many years said that she had female coworkers who were like this. When she asked if they had ever thought of trying to find a boyfriend, they'd say things like, "[famous singer/actor] is my boyfriend!" or "oh, it's too much work."
2) while it's certainly an issue, it's not something that's totally endemic in Japanese society; plenty of people still date, have relationships, marry, have kids, etc. There's obviously nothing wrong with studying it or showing an interest in the topic but it's too bad that there's a growing perception that this is the average guy in Japan.
Wow! Thanks for making the cause - effect relationship clearer. The Japanese lifestyle always amazes me. Especially from a point of view of a foreigner I prefer enjoying Japanese goodies in a laid back place like Thailand.
Kinda funny given that me and my gf are together because of a dating sim we both played in the early 2000s lmao. Bless Tsukihime. Don't watch the anime. Happy Type-Moon is big these days. I say live and let live. Japan to me is more culturally interesting than just dating and most of my Japanese friends don't seem disappointed or sad/depressed about it. There are love hotels for those situations when something real happens.
Japanese women they like foreign men and most loyal , remembering I was a ex President Sukarno his had a Japanese wife she was a ex Geisha is beautiful according to the story that this woman was introduced to smooth the Japanese projects in Indonesia. Sukarno married her at the age 54 while she was 19 years old a very distant defferent age
Japanese women are usually the most loyal to foreign men who have high positions. and she Naoko Nemoto has never remarried (now her age 80 old )
^ oh this sucks, so unless you're Namewee it's over...
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