I often see answers saying that the odds of finding a good partner for a long-term relationship are one in ten or one in twenty. Wealthy men who can make numerous offers might eventually find a match even with those odds, but for most women, who can barely make a few offers, those odds are far too low. Isn’t failing to make this reality clear a form of “recruitment fraud” or “false-expectation fraud,” even worse than “relationship-type fraud”? I have my doubts.

Kida, representative of Universe Group, responding here. Come to think of it, I suppose you could call it a solicitation scam or an expectation scam. I believe the ad says something along the lines of: “You can meet a papa (a male supporter)! Universe Club!” But I always thought that’s just how advertising works. A car dealer wouldn’t say: “Kei cars are scary—you can’t safely take them on the highway. If you crash, you’ll be blown to bits, and people will tailgate you because of your yellow license plate.” They’d say: “Kei cars are perfect for getting around town. They’re easy to maneuver and park, and they get incredible gas mileage.” To me, the question is whether calling that “deception” is fair. That said, the issue of “I signed up, but I still can’t meet anyone decent!” hasn’t been resolved yet, so we’re working on it by developing an app. Hopefully, we’ll be able to launch it in October or by the end of the year.

Aizawa here. First of all, clubs can’t keep detailed statistics because they have no way of knowing whether an arrangement continues afterward. If a club claimed, “You’re guaranteed to meet someone great,” or “You have over a 50% chance of finding a good partner,” you might call that deceptive advertising—but I don’t believe clubs make claims like that. Whether things continue with a good partner ultimately depends on the efforts of both men and women. Rather than simply waiting for someone wonderful to come along, I think you’ll get better results by focusing on making the most of the offers you receive. I’d be happy if you could shift your mindset from “waiting for someone who suits me” to “turning the relationship into something good.” This is just my guess, but the figures of one in ten or one in twenty for meeting a good partner may be written from the men’s perspective. If you’re still not satisfied, why not attend events or something similar? Instead of waiting, you can also take the initiative and go meet people yourself.