Why does the new club require male members to be at least 40 years old? These days, there are more diverse ways to make money, and there must be many men in their 20s and 30s earning over ¥40 million a year. I assume you based the membership requirements for male members on those of other long-established dating clubs, but I feel this age restriction is outdated and reflects old-fashioned thinking.

Maezawa here. We set the minimum age at 40 because men over 40 are more likely to have plenty of life experience and have been through various hardships. We felt that people like that would be less likely to make women uncomfortable. You could say it’s a place for adults. Of course, there are surely gentlemanly, mature men who understand other people’s feelings even at 35 or 30, so deciding where to draw the line was difficult. However, generally speaking, we felt that fewer men in their 30s had reached that level, which is why the minimum age is 40. Naturally, even men over 40 cannot join if the staff feels they would be unable to treat women kindly or that they lack emotional maturity. Even after joining, if a woman files a complaint, they may be forcibly removed from the club. From a man’s perspective, it’s probably a place with rules that feel almost excessively strict. I don’t know whether that way of thinking is outdated, but this decision wasn’t based on any particular reference. Of course, it’s possible that the age of 40 came to mind because I had seen it somewhere before. Still, when places set an age limit, 30 is usually the more common minimum, so I feel that this was also the result of considering various factors. There’s a saying: “Learn from the past to create the future.” By researching and thinking things through, I believe it’s possible to arrive at new standards.