I’ve always received an allowance of at least 80,000 yen. But after looking into this industry, I’m seeing young women who are perfectly fine with 30,000 yen. It would really hurt to be told I’m mistaken, but I don’t want to go below 80,000 yen. Still, I’m worried I might not get any offers.

Maezawa from the President’s Office here, and I’ll answer your question. Thank you for your question. Up until now, I assume you’ve only been meeting people offering at least 80,000 yen through apps and similar services. However, on apps, some women set their own rate at 10,000 yen, while others set it at 20,000 yen. Many women who ask for 30,000 yen are told by men that it’s expensive. So the fact that you’ve been meeting people offering 80,000 yen or more is pretty impressive. I’m sure you have that level of appeal. If that’s the case, I think you should be able to get the terms you want even if you register with Universe. > But I might not receive any offers. At Universe Club, men cannot see a woman’s desired allowance when making an offer. I think this is one of the biggest differences from other dating clubs. Because of that, the amount you request has nothing to do with how many offers you receive. However, if you tell the staff your desired amount during the interview, they may add a comment such as, “This woman seems to be looking for a high allowance,” without specifying the exact amount. In that case, you might receive fewer offers. With that in mind, if staff ask you about your desired amount, or if the relationship assessment asks how much you’re looking for, it may be fine to answer, “I’m not really sure yet.” The basic approach is to decide after meeting and talking things over. Some men do want to know in advance, but first, let the man see your appeal in person. If you can make him feel that you’re a woman worth offering 80,000 yen or more to, I think you should be able to maintain an arrangement of 80,000 yen or more through Universe as well.

I’m Tetsu, a male member. An allowance of 80,000 yen is quite a lot. That’s way out of my league, so I couldn’t afford it, haha. This topic comes up from time to time on this Q&A site, but I believe the allowance should be decided at an amount both people are comfortable with. It’s not really something outsiders should criticize. When making an offer, you don’t know the exact amount yet, so I don’t think it’s a problem at that stage. However, when the allowance is actually discussed, there may be men like me who hesitate, which could make it less likely that things will continue. If you feel strongly about not lowering your terms, I think it’s best to keep them as they are. To me, that suggests you don’t currently need to compromise your own values just to participate in the club.

I’m Flagmaker, a column writer. It’s hard to tell from the post alone whether the questioner is the kind of woman likely to receive an offer of 8, but plenty of people set their own boundaries. Everyone is free to decide where that line is and how much they want. However, the consequences are their own responsibility. I get the impression that the questioner values her own worth more than her living expenses. There are probably male members who prefer women like that. A stunningly beautiful woman once told me, “I’m sorry… I may come across as expensive, but… I’m a 5. Is that okay?” Oddly enough, the way she put it left a very good impression. Even if you’re asking for the same 8, the way you phrase and present it can change how the other person receives it.

I’m “Paper Airplane,” a male member from the countryside who’s struggling financially, so continuing an arrangement at ¥80,000 per meeting would be completely impossible for me. That said, the club has all kinds of men and women, so I’m sure there are people who would be a perfect match for your wavelength. People from rural areas or with less money tend to brag about getting cheap deals—including on allowances, perhaps—while wealthy people may brag about expensive purchases, and maybe generous allowances too. At Ikari Supermarket, for example, there are cases where an unsold product suddenly sold after its price was tripled… This is also an industry where some men prefer to pay double, four times, or even 10 or 20 times the usual allowance. You probably find people like that outside this industry as well. Once you join a club, you’re more likely to keep looking at other options, so relationships may tend to be somewhat shorter-term.

I’m Taro, a male member. If you have a track record, then you’re not imagining things. Some people will still call it a misunderstanding, though. Stay mentally strong. Maybe only a minority of women in papa-katsu (compensated dating in Japan) think this deeply, but people working for companies that compete at the high end are all fighting the same battle. I’d say there are probably around a million people worldwide dealing with similar worries. Rather than doubting yourself for feeling this way, think about how you can win under those terms. Though, if it were me, I’d say no. Sorry（笑）