A few days ago, someone asked, “Could you tell us how many male members each branch has, and how many members there are in each class?” (I’m not the person who asked that question.) I don’t think it was that strange a question. I was genuinely curious too, but all that happened was that a certain staff member in Okinawa mocked the person asking, saying something along the lines of, “I don’t understand why anyone would want to know that. Gross. I’m not telling you.” No one else seems to have answered. I suppose it’s up to that staff member whether they want to answer or not (though in that case, they could have simply not responded), but does the lack of any other answer mean this is the club’s official stance? There are plenty of other posted questions along the lines of, “What’s the point of asking that?” or “Are you really allowed to reveal that kind of inside information?” I think the fun of an anonymous message board is that people will answer even questions like those.

Thank you for your question. Kida, the representative, will answer it. Sorry for the delayed response. “Why would you even want to know something like that? That’s creepy. I don’t want to say! (In summary.)” That was my reaction too. I felt sorry for you, the person who asked the question. It wasn’t even something you shouldn’t have asked. I should have said that at the time, but I left it as it was. Kamiya in Okinawa is an excellent staff member who tends to charge ahead based on her instincts. In that respect, she’s somewhat similar to Takita. This is just speculation, but at the time, she may have interpreted my instruction to “write your honest thoughts” as meaning she had to make the answer somewhat entertaining. Or perhaps, having only been with the company for a short time, she wasn’t sure how much information she was allowed to disclose. There aren’t any other dating clubs besides Universe that publish their male membership numbers and class breakdowns, right? So, an ordinary employee would probably hesitate to give a specific answer, thinking, “Is it really okay for me to publish these numbers? Could there be some issue I don’t know about, involving the tax office or the police? Will my answer end up being treated as the company’s official position?” But Kamiya took it a step further and answered honestly: “Do we really need that kind of information? An offer is a one-on-one contest—let’s be straightforward!” I think that was wonderful. However, no one stepped in to provide some balance, which was not a good way to handle things because it made both her and the person who asked the question look like the bad guys. I should have been the one to follow up. If we had left things as they were, it certainly would have embarrassed you. I’m very sorry. Separately, here’s my personal view on the idea of an “official position of the club.” From this point on, I’m speaking frankly rather than formally. What exactly is an “official position of the club”? There’s no such thing. All there is is the difference between what you really think and what you say publicly. I often get irritated when employees ask me things like, “So this is the company’s policy, correct?” There is no “company policy.” It’s my own feelings. My honest feelings. I’m simply thinking as hard as I can about how to help you shine even more, and proposing what I believe would work. What does “company policy” even mean? And who exactly is “the company”? Aren’t you part of it too? We’re working on this together—that’s what makes us a company. Are you talking about management? No, that’s not it. It’s a plan I thought through as carefully as I could. I don’t understand everything, and I don’t want to hurt our employees, so I consulted with General Affairs, our labor and social security attorney, and everyone else involved before reaching this answer. If my ideas are wrong, let’s fix them together. Both you and I—all of it—is the company’s policy. Huh? I’ve gotten off track. I think of an “official position of the club” as nothing more than a public-facing excuse. Would you really want to hear something like, “As the club’s official position, we are committed to putting our members first, building better services, and doing everything we can to help develop a safer and more secure industry”? If I were given text like that, I’d take it to the park and feed it to the pigeons with some popcorn. Or give it to the deer in Miyajima. I think this question helped the person who asked about “the number of male members at each branch,” and led to a deeper discussion. It was a truly excellent question.

Thank you for your question. I’m Aso, the manager in charge of systems, and I’ll be answering this one. Our representative told us: “Write your own thoughts! It’s more honest and more interesting that way! Even if you’re wrong, that’s okay. We have 100 employees, and each person will have a different answer depending on their position.” So all of our staff are free to answer honestly. Some want to respond, while others prefer not to. The answer from the other day was not the club’s official view—and in fact, none of the answers in this question box represent the club’s official position. Sorry if that sounds like we’re trying to dodge the issue. But still! I think the questioner’s reaction—“Is it really okay to reveal those behind-the-scenes details?”—is part of what makes this fun. The variety of answers from our staff, representative, and members—each with their own perspectives—is one of our selling points, so we hope you’ll enjoy that aspect too. Thank you, as always, for your continued support. We look forward to having you with us.