Maezawa from the President’s Office here, and I’ll answer this one as well.
Thank you for your question.
You probably want an answer from a staff member, but apparently staff won’t respond when “Anyone” is selected. Strange, I know（笑）
So if you’d like a staff response, please check “Staff” in addition to “Anyone.”
> 1. Does Universe check applicants for bad breath when hiring staff?
> I don’t see many comments about it, so is it left up to each staff member?
We don’t specifically check for bad breath. We simply conduct a normal interview.
I think most staff members feel that it’s not a problem as long as they don’t notice anything while having a normal conversation.
Besides, staff members aren’t going to kiss the applicants, so they don’t get that close. If there’s no issue at a normal distance, then I don’t think it’s a problem.
Of course, if someone’s breath was bad enough to be noticeable even at a normal distance, I imagine it would be mentioned in the comments.
Also, if we were going to check for bad breath, we’d need to measure it with a machine. But then we’d have to ask, “What about the men?” And bad breath can change depending on your physical condition. It’s perfectly normal for it to be different on the day of the interview compared with other days.
If more than half of the men said it was something they cared about, it would be easy enough to introduce breath-testing devices. But at the moment, I don’t think we’re receiving that many requests.
> 2. Are male members generally willing to tolerate the three points mentioned above?
People are willing to tolerate a certain amount. There’s also the idea that if you want a perfect partner, you first need to become perfect yourself.
At this point, we haven’t received that many requests regarding smells.
However, if it’s only necessary for the date, then:
- Bad breath can be dealt with using mouthwash.
- Clothes can be treated with Febreze or something similar.
- Body odor can be addressed with a deodorizing spray such as AG Deo.
- For intimate odors, there are dedicated products as well.
So there are ways to deal with them.
Before the date, you could also have the staff tell her, “My sense of smell is as sharp as a dog’s, so I’d appreciate it if you could take the measures mentioned above.”
Of course, she might think you’re a strange man. But many women already take precautions against odors, so she might not find it all that strange.
(We’ve never received a request like that, so I can’t say how it would be received.)
> 3. Do female members also pay attention to these three points and take precautions?
Most women wear perfume, so I assume they’re conscious of it, but…
I’m Kazu, a male member.
> 1. Do Universe staff check applicants for bad breath when they’re hired?
Probably not. Did they check your breath during your interview to join?
> 2. For male members, how acceptable are the three issues mentioned above?
Bad breath and body odor: I’ve noticed them occasionally, but they’ve never been particularly bad. I don’t kiss that much anyway.
Intimate-area odor: There have only been two women whose odor was beyond my tolerance—yellow-card level (I’ll go ahead with things, but I absolutely don’t want to go down on her). I wasn’t enthusiastic about seeing either of them, so I didn’t meet them again after the second time. I’ve never encountered anyone at red-card level (someone I wouldn’t want to have sex with even with protection, so I’d leave immediately).
That “closet” smell: I’ve never met anyone whose smell bothered me.
Actually, I’ve sometimes wished I could know about intimate-area odor in advance, but I never had the nerve to post that in the question box（笑）
