There are more and more men in the papa-katsu (compensated dating in Japan) scene whose financial situation is nowhere near comfortable enough—it’s honestly concerning. Unless the bar for men is raised and this is made into something only a select few can participate in, I feel like even the Universe name will start to seem cheap.

I’m Fuu, a column writer. I’ve had some bad experiences with apps, so I’m generally satisfied with Universe’s system and the quality of its service. Personally, I hope this system continues for a long time. I also feel that female members are probably offered a safer environment than they would find on apps. If the bar for male membership is raised and only a select few are accepted, then naturally only a select few female members will be chosen as well, right? Since the questioner doesn’t seem satisfied with Universe, I get the impression that they might be better suited to registering with a salon for specially selected male members. The following is just me thinking out loud（笑） I’d hate to see the quality of Universe Club’s male members, female members, or management decline from its current level, but I’m concerned about the reality that roughly 40% of registered women—give or take—receive no offers. Shouldn’t there be some way to help female members who aren’t receiving offers get matched with someone? This is only a hypothesis, but some women without offers may actually prefer to receive an offer even if the allowance is low. However, since they can’t get offers through Universe, quite a few of them end up moving to apps, don’t they? The club spends money interviewing them, and the women join with a certain level of motivation, yet they receive no offers. Is it because there aren’t enough male members? Should the club broaden the pool of potential male members so that more female members can receive offers? At the same time, increasing the number of male members without lowering their quality as much as possible seems difficult. Given the state of the Japanese economy, it’s hard to imagine the wealthy population growing significantly, either. It’s a pretty difficult issue.

I’m Flagmaker, a columnist. Guh… It feels like you’re talking about me, and it hurts right in the heart… Even though I earn 10 million yen a year, I’ve just been upgraded to Black membership. Still, even a lightweight has to find their own way to wrestle. I’ll do my best not to cause any trouble for the women.

I’m Chikuwa, a male member. There are already far fewer male members than female members, and apparently many women don’t receive any offers at all. So wouldn’t it be difficult to be selective about the male members? Considering how few men earn tens of millions of yen or more—enough to comfortably pursue papa-katsu (compensated dating in Japan)—I wonder whether the business model is actually viable.

I thought the meal was 5,000 yen for both of them, but I’m not sure which it is. Either way, I guess papa-katsu (compensated dating in Japan) has really gone mainstream. Marika

I’m Maezawa from the President’s Office, and I’ll answer this one too. Thank you for your question. > There are women like that at Universe too, but the best they offer is 5,000 yen lol. At Universe, the rules set the allowance at 5,000–10,000 yen, so 5,000 yen is perfectly acceptable. Of course, I understand wanting 10,000 yen, and I’m sure many men understand that feeling too. > Is it okay for it to be the same as an app? Thank you for your concern. However, judging by the questions posted here, I think many men pay 50,000 yen or more. Some even pay 100,000 or 150,000 yen. And while you prioritize money, some women prioritize personality. Ultimately, if the allowance satisfies the woman, I don’t think other people or the club should have anything to say about it. I assume you’ve had experiences where you received less than the amount you were hoping for, right? For people in that situation, it’s understandable to feel disappointed and think, “The allowance is so low that this is no different from using an app.” That said, I think there are ways to improve your results, so it might be worth researching different approaches. > We need to raise the bar for men so this becomes something only a select few can participate in. If the membership fee is raised, people who can’t or don’t want to pay it won’t join, so I think it would raise the barrier to entry. I once suggested creating a separate club with a system that immediately forces members to leave based on poor reviews—so that only good men remain. But I was shot down with: “Are you trying to take Universe’s Black members? Why don’t you create it yourself?” (Lol.) My proposal was to make it a spin-off club of Universe, but… A club like that couldn’t be created from scratch with no foundation at all. I meant a spin-off club made possible precisely because Universe already exists. Incidentally, the lowest membership fee at a high-end dating club is 300,000 yen. I was completely targeting Universe’s Black members (lol). That said, the type of women would be different, and I thought many of the current Platinum members would want to meet those women, so I assumed they would still come even if they had to pay a 300,000-yen membership fee.

I’m Kazu, a male member. At Universe, the allowance for a first-meeting meal is set at ¥5,000–¥10,000. So, what’s your question?