I recently found out about a message board called Bakusai, and when I searched for it, it looked like there were several posts about Universe Club as well.

I’m Flag Maker, a column writer. There are quite a few more posts on “Host Love.” I find myself checking it pretty often.

Maezawa from the Corporate Planning Office here as well. I’d never heard of it before, so I searched for it on Bakusai and “Universe.” What came up was an old-looking thread titled: “Dating Club Universe Club Tokyo” 2014/06/05 11:26 At first I thought it was just an old archived post, but apparently there were still a few posts in 2020, making it seem like the site was barely being used. It may have been a discussion on another message board, but basically, I’m not interested. And even if I did become curious, I don’t think there’d be anything good to come from looking, so I generally choose not to. Is there any benefit to knowing about it? Even if I had the time, I feel it would be more useful to look at other information instead. (笑) The following was copied from the posts, but even after reading them, all I can really say is, “Huh, okay…” “Can anyone who knows about dating clubs tell me about them?” [Anonymous] #113 2015/03/27 03:23 It seems pretty well-rounded, so it’s good. [Anonymous] #114 2015/03/27 10:51 The fact that you can really enjoy yourself is a big plus. [Anonymous] #115 2015/03/27 17:59 The club seems pretty interesting. [Anonymous] #116 2015/03/28 01:32 There are lots of different ways to enjoy it. [Anonymous] #117 2015/03/28 08:41 I think it’s a good place where you can really have a good time. [Anonymous] #118 2015/03/28 16:18 It’s been featured in quite a few places, hasn’t it? [Anonymous] #119 2015/03/28 23:54 It’s often featured in magazines too. [Anonymous] #120 2015/03/29 07:37 It’s been in magazines? That’s appealing. [Anonymous] #121 2015/03/29 14:37 It’s part of this whole “club” category, right? [Anonymous] #122 2015/03/29 21:45 It’s pretty interesting. That’s a big plus. [Anonymous] #123 2015/03/30 05:41 It’s a reputable place, so you should be able to enjoy yourself. [Anonymous] #124 2015/03/30 13:39 I guess I need to learn how to enjoy it properly. [Anonymous]

I’m Meg, a female member. Yes, it’s a hassle.

I’m Rin, a female member. I can’t even be bothered to look into it, but what exactly are the staff supposed to do with that information once they know it? Monitor the internet? This isn’t elementary or middle school. Dumping responsibility, obligations, and your own emotions onto someone else for every little thing is incredibly immature. Being young isn’t an excuse. You presumably looked into it for a reason, so you’ll have to deal with the consequences yourself. In the first place, I don’t know what anyone can gain from information provided by a group that has no problem anonymously spewing nothing but negativity at others. Update: Even if you’re anonymous, I’ll respond sincerely to anyone who contacts me directly with their opinions or complaints. It helps improve our operations, customer service, and even our mindset, so I’m grateful. That’s because it becomes a genuine exchange of views rather than a one-way rant.

I’m だて◎ゆめ, a male member. “Bakusai” ↑ What’s that?! I’d never heard of it or even seen it before, haha.

I’m Kamihikōki, a male member. In the nightlife, host-club, and adult-entertainment industries, many staff members and women frequently keep an eye on sites like Bakusai. However, most of the posts are usually made by people from within the same industry. What many women are concerned about—as mentioned in the question—is not necessarily having their real names exposed, but whether their area of residence is being revealed or whether they’re being stalked. They’re extremely sensitive to those kinds of things, and it can really wear them down emotionally. It can even lead to mental-health issues or cause them to quit, which is truly unfortunate. With a club, there’s no physical venue where someone can wait outside for you, and there are so many members that it’s not possible to narrow things down to just a few people. So I don’t think Bakusai is much of a concern—or rather, there’s hardly any reason for club members to care about it at all. Even if someone posted defamatory comments about a member, nobody would go looking for that kind of thing and use it as a basis for making an offer. So there’s no real demand for those posts, and the thread would probably just become a ghost thread. P.S. Mac, A friend of a fifth-generation member is hooked on a host in Tokyo. Apparently, even though the fifth-generation member tells her not to post on Bakusai, she keeps doing it. It seems this intense competitive feeling among women—an unwillingness to lose to each other—just keeps flaring up. When the host moved, she apparently thought she was the only one invited to his home, and she even pays him more for dates than she would through a club. It’s a world that men can’t even imagine. And then there’s the mystery of the woman being married. She isn’t my type, but she’s such a stunning beauty that someone like me could never even approach her. I suppose her husband lets her get away with anything, but normally, that would be unthinkable. It’s also strange that someone that beautiful would be even more aggressive than a man and lavish that much money on a host.