If you’re a female member living with your parents and they’re always around, making it hard to go out, is there a convincing excuse your parents would accept for going on a date?

I’m Meg, a female member. You could even take this opportunity to start living on your own. Once you become independent from your parents, you may realize just how much they’ve done for you and come to appreciate them more. Maybe you could ask your papa (a male supporter) to help with the money to get started, haha. Just handle that part tactfully ♪

I’m Flag Maker, a column writer. I happened to be talking on the phone with a coworker earlier—a woman with children—and she said, “My daughter told me she wants to go out to see her boyfriend, and it’s really irritating.” Also, a male coworker in his 20s said last week, “I can’t see my girlfriend because she lives with her parents, so I’m going to try phone sex!” It feels like there are a lot of young people living with their parents who are currently restricted from seeing their boyfriends or girlfriends. So I’m thinking that going on a date with your partner is probably difficult. The only thing I can come up with is to make time by going out for something unavoidable, like school or work, and come home early, at a time when no one will get suspicious.

Maezawa from the Corporate Planning Office here as well. Even when you’re an adult, living with your parents means they tend to interfere in all sorts of things, doesn’t it? Especially now, with a state of emergency in effect, many women are probably reluctantly turning down offers because their parents tell them to stay home unless they have somewhere they absolutely need to be. I’m not sure what excuses would work best, but maybe something like: “I’ve been stuck at home every day and it’s starting to get to me mentally, so I’m going to go shopping somewhere a little farther away to clear my head. Maybe I’ll pick up some fruit while I’m out?” Or: “Something seems to have gone wrong at work, and they called me in, so I’m going to go.” Something along those lines, perhaps? I couldn’t think of any particularly good excuses, but even if it’s a date through a dating club, saying, “I’m going to meet my boyfriend,” might work too.

I’m Marika, a female member. Since you’re an adult woman over 18, why not simply say you’re going on a date? Don’t you go on dates with your boyfriend? Or have girls’ nights out for dinner or drinks, or even girls’ sleepovers? If you’re not usually someone who goes out much, anything you say might sound suspicious. So you could just say it’s a date and, if they start asking who the person is, have a consistent story ready—such as a classmate from university or an older coworker from your part-time job. Obviously, you can’t exactly say you’re going to a hotel with a papa (a male supporter) older than your own father. Just be careful not to start spending money too lavishly. P.S. Oh, you mean because it’s this time of year. Sorry about that.