Regarding the Number of Female Members,

I’m Basil, a male member. As I’ve mentioned in similar comments a few times before, I don’t think we’ll see an increase in high-quality, down-to-earth women. Perhaps the type of people who wanted a little luxury have gotten used to living modestly during the pandemic. I prefer women with an ordinary, approachable vibe, but even among the new female members, there seem to be fewer who catch my eye compared with about a year ago. The general consensus here seems to be much the same. In terms of membership numbers, I think the decline is because the women who joined and continued their memberships around the peak just before COVID are now reaching their six-month renewal period, but are too worried about COVID to renew. From here on, however, most renewals will involve women who joined after the pandemic began, so the numbers may not change much. On the other hand, the “festival effect” is starting to wear off for male members, so perhaps their numbers will decline from here on? Personally, I plan to use up the points I purchased and take it easy with new members for a while. I’ve already expanded my online connections too much to have any trouble meeting women. During that time, I hope the club will introduce new services that encourage male members to be more active. That said, if I find one woman I really like, I’ll probably make an offer right away.

Maezawa from the president’s office here—I’ll answer as well. Thank you for your support. As for the future, I think it depends on COVID-19. Women are generally more likely to take steps to avoid risks, so I imagine some feel that, with COVID-19 being a concern, this isn’t the time for papa-katsu (compensated dating in Japan). For that reason, I don’t think the number of women will increase until the pandemic settles down. > I think the ratio was 1:3 when I joined. I’m not sure exactly when that was, but just a few years ago, there were around 3,000 women. There were about 1,000 men at the time, so the ratio was 1:3. However, simply looking at the number of women, there are now more than twice as many as there were then. So even though it may seem like the numbers have fallen recently, they have still increased considerably compared with before. New members are also registering every day, so for now, I think you can rest assured.

Mamiya from Universe Tokyo here. A long time ago, we reevaluated our relationship with street scouts. Since then, both the quality and number of women we’re able to meet have declined. We still have a lot of work to do when it comes to transitioning from affiliate sites, but they continue to help us bring in new female members. During COVID, advertising was the first thing we cut to reduce expenses. The slight decrease in new female members may be due to the effects of that period. At the same time, I’ve been conducting interviews myself, and I’m happy to meet women who probably wouldn’t have joined if it weren’t for COVID. Thanks to the funds raised at member events and elsewhere, we invested in advertising again—but then our applications failed to pass screening, and so on. The future remains uncertain, though that’s nothing new for us. Fewer interviews means lower sales, which means we’re constantly aware of the risk of going under. That’s why this is where we’re putting the most effort. I’m not sure if it’s my place to say this, but thanks to our excellent engineers, we’re currently testing an in-house system for a female member referral program. If we can get it running smoothly, referrals will earn points, and we’ll be able to celebrate “birds of a feather” bringing in more of the same! We’re getting ready to make both Universe and our female members happy. So, while attracting new female members remains a challenge, please continue to look forward to what’s ahead!

I’m Saito, a columnist ♪ The more famous papa-katsu (compensated dating in Japan) becomes, the more people join without really thinking it through—often after being talked into it by a scout. It may sound rude to call them “people who have gotten the wrong idea,” but that’s essentially what it is. I’ve heard that a considerable number of applicants are actually turned away. So why aren’t there more beautiful women? The answer is that papa-katsu has become so widespread that the beautiful women are already being properly taken care of by their supporters.

I’m Paper Airplane, a male member. When it comes to bringing men and women together, having more men become super-regular members is a barometer of popularity, so seeing that number grow—and having them spend more—is a positive sign. With that many male members, new women will continue to join as well, so I imagine Universe will keep using every possible media channel and method to attract new female members. That said, judging from the channels they use, it’s understandable that it may be difficult to expect them to bring in nothing but everyday, inexperienced women… > To Mr. Dignified Papa-Katsu Gentleman That’s a very insightful take. I really feel the same way. Especially this part: > If another crisis comes along, they may abandon the people > who helped them through it this time. I hope Universe makes a strong effort going forward. I’m fine since I’ve been able to save my points, but I imagine many of those who chose the unlimited Fes plan aren’t feeling very reassured. I hope Universe will work calmly and discreetly to restore the quality—and gradually rebuild trust—as a way of making up for it.