[Kirkwood]

I am going to Japan for 2 weeks of speaking engagements in February. All of my Japanese friends (all men from age 40 to 65) have warned me that young Japanese women will throw themselves at me because there really is a shortage of men willing to marry. I thought they were joking, but they were very serious and I have heard the same thing from over a dozen people so far.

[untenured]

All of my Japanese friends (all men from age 40 to 65) have warned me that young Japanese women will throw themselves at me because there really is a shortage of men willing to marry.

That's probably an overstatement, which is unsurprising if everyone saying it is a Japanese man. But a man who was actively looking for a wife would have no trouble finding candidates.

[pepsionice]

I worked with a guy who was in Japan for four years. He left in the mid-90s. He said that single Japanese women (especially those in the early 30s)...are very direct in conversation. Their priorities at around age 30 change drastically. They want a stable man, who doesn't drink much, who doesn't treat them like a typical Japanese woman. They are smarter and more aggressive than the old generation. He said that an American guy who is on good behavior...can meet up with at least five women who aggressively court the guy in a one-month period.

You see the same problem in Russia. Russian women are begging for western men to take them as brides. It isn't the American dream angle...its the wonderful husband angle...and they all believe that American or European men can provide that dream.

[Chieftain]

Need someone to accompany you? LOL!

I was stationed in Japan for many years in the military and your friends are telling you the truth. Lucky you!

[AmericanInTokyo]

This is a difficult thread. It is hard to talk about things without making a lot of generalizations. The quantiative facts are few. A lot of this is just gut level reaction.

I will say, the missing story here is that (not a few) Japanese women have very recently (the last 1-2 years) gone head over heels over...get this...KOREAN MEN.

Unfathomable anytime before the late 1990s.

I must say, there is something refreshing about opening a door for a young Japanese female, and have her express shock at first, and then genuine female (a bit coquette-ish) appreciation, rather than having the door grabbed from me and the (American) female scowl or even, in some extreme cases, spit out "I can handle the door myself!" in a rough, truck-driver lesbianic drawl.

Most guys in the world will appreciate the natural, complementary feminine aspects of women much more than a feigned and competitive masculinity that reeks of deep 'issues' and role confusion.

Again, extreme generalizations here.

[vetvetdoug]

Do you need a butler for the trip? I know a single well educated veterinarian that knows a little Japanese language that would be willing to accompany you for the fringe benefits. I lived in Japan between 1958-1963.