I often see people bashing allowances.

I’m seriously sick of hearing about allowances. If you can’t even decide your own allowance, don’t use Universe. There are plenty of other dating clubs that thoughtfully set the rates for you. Men and women alike. Marika

The allowance varies from person to person… But since some people occasionally say things like “2” or “3,” I think that’s why others start making a fuss.

I think the questioner should try to take a broader view. Why is a higher allowance necessarily better? Wouldn’t it be better to look at things from a wider perspective? In the past, I think the image was that if you joined a dating club, you could receive a substantial allowance, have various things bought for you, and become someone’s mistress. That’s probably why many women joined clubs seeking exactly that. After Universe came along, the clubs gradually became places where women could do papa-katsu (compensated dating in Japan) and receive large allowances. Even then, there were still plenty of reasons for women to want to join. But what about now? As the number of women on apps also declined due to COVID-19, it seems that allowances on dating apps have become polarized. Some attractive women can now receive ¥50,000 or more even through apps. On the other hand, because there are fewer men, women who aren’t as conventionally attractive may have started dating even after lowering their allowance expectations. If that’s the case, then for an allowance of ¥50,000, an app—which lets you sign up instantly using only your smartphone—is much more convenient. Apps are riskier, but unless someone is a complete beginner, they’ll research how to avoid those risks before getting started. As a result, they may even end up meeting good men. On the other hand, I imagine some men have turned to dating clubs because the number of women on apps declined due to COVID-19. Those men probably think, “I should be able to have an adult relationship (intimate) for less,” and try to do the same thing at dating clubs. If that continues, there may be plenty of women registered for now, but eventually they’ll stop seeing a reason to join dating clubs and women will stop signing up. Once the number of women starts to fall—or even if it doesn’t, once the attractive women disappear—men will also leave the clubs. You may think, “Isn’t that just because the trend has passed?” But this is a case of bad money driving out good money. It’s something everyone knows, but people generally prioritize their own interests. Members shouldn’t be expected to think that far ahead. Ideally, I think the clubs should actively exclude men who would undermine their own future. Some people think, “I’m the customer,” while others say, “Actually, that’s not how it works.” That said, this isn’t simply about allowances; it’s also about the women’s overall satisfaction, which makes things a little complicated. Even if the allowance isn’t particularly high, the best outcome is for the woman to feel that she met a good person. But if we’re talking about allowances alone, there is a risk of the situation I described above occurring. At a fundamental level, I think this question was asked because the questioner is too focused on the allowance alone. The allowance itself can be any amount. What matters is whether the other person is satisfied. If things aren’t going well, then it’s highly possible that the allowance is insufficient. But if things are going well for you, I don’t think you need to worry about it. That’s what it means to say there’s no fixed market rate.

As I wrote before, when you hear that stock prices are at an all-time high, even if you don’t invest in stocks, you still kind of think, “I guess the economy is doing well. That’s nice.” Of course, some people may become resentful, thinking, “So there are wealthy people supporting this stock market boom…” while others may feel it has nothing to do with them because they don’t benefit from rising stock prices. But for many women, isn’t it still nice, in a vague sort of way, when the economy is doing well? That said, even if it’s a relationship involving money, I don’t want to reduce my relationship with my papa (a male supporter) to money alone. I see it as simply being that, because of the way we met, it required a certain amount of money to deepen my relationship with one particular man. No one has any right to tell me whether that amount is too much or too little.

It’s exhausting when someone next to you keeps talking about the same thing nonstop.

I understand where the questioner is coming from, but it feels like they simply wanted to express their own opinion. No one would disagree that the allowance is something the two people involved decide between themselves. Still, it’s also true that few topics get people as worked up as debates over allowance amounts. Rather than forcing it into the form of a question, they could simply volunteer as an answerer and share their views in response to questions like that…

The allowance I give my monthly partners ranges from 10 to 100 per meeting. In other words, there’s no fixed market rate. If I feel that a girl is worth 20, I give her 20. If I think 15 is appropriate, I give her 15. If I think she’s worth 100, I give her 100. I decide based on the vibe. Meanwhile, the people who say “as long as both sides agree” have a very firmly established going rate, don’t they? Five, four, or three across the board. I’m hugely disliked, with people constantly saying, “Loser, stop going on about the market rate.” But I decide allowances based on the vibe, while my critics are actually hardcore supporters of fixed market rates. I find that pretty amusing. By the way, I have no problem with someone who isn’t financially well-off giving an allowance of five. What I’ve repeatedly been saying is simply: “If you’re going around flaunting how wealthy you are, then what’s with giving an allowance of five?” Until fairly recently, I remember there being a few people on this Q&A site—not quite enough to call it widespread—who talked about giving low allowances as though it were something to be proud of. When I saw that, I thought, “Huh?” Young women are offering their bodies, and you’re bragging about giving them a low allowance? That’s unbelievably disrespectful. I thought, “I’m going to raise the going rate,” and joined in. Though this is also partly an SEO test—maybe that was actually my main objective. I think it’s fine for people to have all kinds of opinions, and if I actually met Carlos Ghosn in person, I’d probably become friends with him in seconds.

I agree. It’s a personal matter, so everyone should go about papa-katsu in their own way. There’s no need to go around talking about it to others or forcing your views on anyone. Akari

I think allowance is a personal matter between the people involved—a matter of matching. So I really don’t care what someone else’s allowance is. That said, I’m not a fan of constantly rehashing the same annoying arguments. Comparing annual income and allowance, for example, is still just more noisy allowance talk to me, all on the same playing field.

I agree with you. Everyone’s situation is different, so there’s no need to worry about someone else’s allowance. As long as both people are comfortable with the arrangement, that’s all that matters.