Is it common for people on Universe not to receive their allowance, or to have it reduced?

I’m Saito, a column writer ♪ The app is already sketchy because it uses edited photos of the women. The men’s incomes and annual earnings are also based entirely on self-reporting, with no tax withholding slips or other proof required. I tried the app once, but the woman who showed up looked shockingly different from her photos. And there was nowhere to file a complaint... I honestly don’t see what’s good about the app at all. (Though I suppose it depends on the person.)

I’m Aya, a female member. Once, a papa in his 70s whom I’d been seeing for two years reduced my allowance from ¥80,000 to ¥60,000. I didn’t particularly like him to begin with, so I eventually stopped seeing him. I’ve never used an app, so I wouldn’t know.

I’m Date◎Yume, a male member. I believe relationships through a dating club are, by definition, relationships involving money. As the relationship continues, some may naturally develop into romantic feelings, but I imagine that’s extremely rare. I think reducing the allowance can be more beneficial to the woman than ending the relationship altogether. If she doesn’t want a reduction, she can simply end the relationship. If she’s offered a lower allowance, wouldn’t it make sense to judge based on the actual amount she’ll take home? This is a dating club. Is it really appropriate to compare and judge it on the same terms as an app...?

I’m Fuu, a columnist. Universe Club has more safeguards than dating apps, so your chances of staying safe are significantly higher. With apps, you’re on your own. If someone deceives you and then blocks you, that’s the end of it. I don’t think most app companies will do much to support you. With a dating club, the club is involved, and they keep members’ identification information on file. Neither male nor female members can act too recklessly. The allowance is negotiated freely, and for various reasons—including the COVID-19 pandemic—some financially struggling papas may ask to lower it. There are also a certain number of papas who suggest a regular relationship between a man and woman without any allowance. If you’re not comfortable with that, female members should firmly decline. Of course, it isn’t perfect. If a male member were to run off without paying the allowance, the female member could report it to the club. A male member who committed fraud could be pursued using the contact information he left with the club. He could also be forcibly removed from the club and lose future opportunities. Compared with apps, this makes it less likely that a male member will choose to disappear after the meeting, risking having his identification information held by the club and wasting the annual membership fee he paid.

Maezawa from the President’s Office will answer this one as well. It’s not as bad as apps. At Universe, we keep records of the men’s identification, so things like men blatantly deceiving women and then disappearing don’t happen. So what does happen? After dinner, the man invites the woman to an adult relationship (intimate). Sometimes, at that point, the man doesn’t discuss the terms of the arrangement. The woman may also think, “I’d normally expect to receive around ¥50,000,” and refrain from bringing up the terms. So they go to a hotel without discussing the terms and have an adult relationship (intimate). Afterward, when the man shows no sign of giving her an allowance and she asks him about it, he might say something like: “Huh? I thought this was just a normal romantic relationship. You needed money?” Then he might add, “Oh, I didn’t give you transportation money. Here you go,” and hand her only ¥10,000. This happens very rarely. That ¥10,000 is also within the ¥5,000–¥10,000 transportation allowance set by Universe as a rule. In other words, she effectively receives no allowance for the adult relationship (intimate). A dating club is not a place where men can go on dates without paying an allowance, so if we receive feedback from the woman, we warn the man. If he wants a relationship without paying, he can do that somewhere else. There are also cases where a man agrees to ¥50,000 but then says, “I couldn’t finish, so I’ll give you ¥30,000 instead.” (The amounts are just examples.) Deceiving women in this way violates the membership requirement that men conduct themselves as gentlemen, so the club will warn them. If the behavior is especially egregious or repeated multiple times, we terminate their membership. That’s why I believe it’s considerably safer than apps and similar services. At Universe Club, staff meet both the men and women in person. (Some people had video interviews because of COVID-19.) This cumbersome system actually seems to make things safer. If anything happens, the club knows the man’s real name and address, which means the other party can be sued if necessary. I think that makes this a fairly safe system. That said, nothing is 100% safe, so it’s still important to protect yourself.

I’m Kazu, a male member. Unfortunately, it seems these cases do happen, even if they’re rare. The victims tend to be women who don’t assert themselves much, so I think it’s important to protect yourself. I’ve heard that on apps, some people use even nastier tricks, such as saying, “I’ll withdraw the allowance and give it to you,” or “I’ll go pick it up and bring it to you,” only to run off. In most cases, both can be avoided by agreeing on the allowance beforehand and asking to receive it upfront.