I was approached by a scout recently and encouraged to register with Universe. Are there any benefits to registering through a scout? I asked the scout too, but their explanation didn’t really click with me. I’d appreciate any insight.

Universe Club Tokyo I’m Aizawa, the assistant chief, and I’ll answer as well. When you say you were “scouted,” I assume you mean you were approached on the street. If so, there’s a possibility that we wouldn’t be able to interview you in the first place. You may come in, tell us, “I was approached on the street,” and then be asked to leave. Of course, it depends on the circumstances. If you met someone on the street, exchanged messages a few times, and the conversation eventually turned to dating clubs—with them saying something like, “I’ll send you the URL for the interview, so why not give it a try?”—that would probably be fine. In any case, please come to the interview of your own accord. Showing up saying, “I just came because someone told me to,” would also be disrespectful to your potential date partner. Please think it over carefully, and we’d be happy if you came after deciding that it’s something you genuinely need. One possible benefit is that they may offer advice or introduce you to other clubs. Some scouts apparently act as private intermediaries, so they may introduce you to a papa (a male supporter) without going through a club.

I’m Maezawa from the CEO’s office, and I’ll answer this as well. Thank you for your question. If you’re unsure, it’s better to apply directly. Universe Club has currently stopped doing business with scouts altogether, and now only offers affiliate partnerships. The reason is that street scouting is prohibited, and people engaging in it are being arrested one after another. There was even a TV program showing a female police officer in plain clothes deliberately walking through areas where scouts were likely to be present. When someone approached her and it became clear that he was a scout—after first determining that it wasn’t simply an attempt to pick her up—plainclothes officers waiting nearby rushed out and arrested him on the spot. Since being arrested means the person was engaging in illegal activity, we have to make it clear that Universe does not cooperate with illegal activities. As a result, we no longer have relationships with scouts. So it’s possible that some scouts may speak badly about us. However, if people who used to be scouts follow the affiliate rules and introduce people through Universe’s affiliate links, it doesn’t matter whether they are scouts or not. So it’s possible that someone referred to as a scout may be introducing people as an affiliate. That said, introducing someone you approached on the street violates the terms, and the affiliate contract will be terminated. > Benefits of registering through a scout If you happen to find a good scout, they may listen to you and offer advice about your life. However, I hear that very few scouts are that genuinely supportive these days. Some people simply leave you on your own after making the introduction, in which case there’s no benefit at all.

I’m Kazu, a male member. I think it depends on the scout. A good scout will probably give you appropriate advice about your concerns. A bad scout may give women inaccurate advice, so once you actually start, you may find yourself thinking, “Wait, what?”

I’m Paper Airplane, a male member. It depends on the scout, but also on whether she’s the type who needs a man like that in her life. Many scouts earn a very high income themselves, so a good scout will regularly listen to her concerns, introduce her to new ways to make money (jobs), and so on. Some women maintain an ongoing relationship with them. In particular, popular women with high incomes seem to know how to manage those relationships well. From a man’s perspective, it seems like the scout is taking such a large cut (though I wonder whether that affects the woman’s share…), so it feels like there’s no benefit to her at all…