I was rejected by a well-known lounge in Tokyo. I expected it since I knew getting accepted wouldn’t be easy, but it still made me think, “I’m overweight and my face is kind of big...” I don’t know what criteria they used, but is Universe Club mainly focused on appearance?

I’m in Seattle. I’m okay with someone built like a barrel, but if he’s over 75 kg and heavier than me, I’d say he’s eating a little too much. As long as you’re friendly, you’ll pass.

I’m Maezawa from the CEO’s office, and I’ll answer this one too. Questions like “Will I pass?” come up in the question box every now and then—actually, on a regular basis. So I suggested, “Why not just let everyone pass?” That got rephrased as, “It would be good to provide clear standards,” and the discussion shifted toward making the criteria explicit. But the criteria still haven’t been posted yet. I was thinking of something simple, like: if your height is this and your weight is that, you’re fine. The idea is to make it possible for women to know in advance, based on their own height and weight, whether they would pass. Of course, some men may say, “I’d rather not have just anyone register.” But are your preferences really the same as every other man’s? Just because a woman isn’t your type, asking, “Why would you register her?” is nothing more than business interference. If you don’t like it, start your own dating club and register only the women you prefer. That’s basically what it comes down to. That said, we also plan to include criteria such as the possibility of failing the interview if the staff feel that an applicant has a bad attitude. So even a woman who should pass based on her height and weight may still fail because of her attitude. The downside is that this approach won’t meet the needs of men who specifically prefer larger women. There was one such man in the past, though. He was delighted by the weight of a big woman sitting on top of him, saying things like, “I love the feeling of a domme on top of me,” and “It’s like having a millstone on me—a millstone!” But there probably aren’t many men like that anymore, so I suppose it’ll be fine… (Though maybe I just don’t know about them.)

I’m Aya, a female member. An interview at a lounge—or in the nightlife business in general—is quite different from an interview at a dating club. I’ve worked at an upscale lounge myself, and if they had judged me on looks alone, I might not have been accepted. In reality, I was practically hired because I was introduced by a male customer who spent money at that lounge—the papa I met through papa-katsu (compensated dating in Japan). For example, imagine you wanted to join a famous talent agency. Don’t you think your chances would be completely different if you were introduced by a client who said, “If this girl joins, I’ll definitely become her sponsor,” compared with simply showing up at the agency’s door with your résumé? It’s the same here: I think you went about pursuing the place you wanted to join with the wrong strategy. As for papa-katsu (compensated dating in Japan), unlike lounges, you don’t need perfect looks, so you may still have a chance of being accepted as you are now. Some people are accepted even if they don’t look like celebrities because the arrangement isn’t based solely on appearance. Also, a relatively high percentage of clients dislike or feel uncomfortable with nightlife-industry women. There are definitely clients who prefer women who don’t seem like they work at a cabaret club or lounge, so even women who weren’t accepted by those places can feel comfortable going to an interview. That said, overweight women tend to have a hard time wherever they go—unless it’s a place specializing in plus-size women—so I do think it would be best to lose some weight first.

I’m Dai, a male member. Putting the size of your face aside, why not work on losing some weight? If you’re planning to register with Universe, I’d recommend staying inexperienced in the nightlife industry for now. There are probably quite a few men like me who aren’t comfortable with women who have experience working in that industry.

I’m Kazu, a male member. Universe Club also has women of fairly average appearance, so I don’t think they focus solely on looks. Women who fail the interview are probably those who: - Are extremely overweight or don’t take care of their appearance, making it difficult for the club to confidently ask men to pay a setup fee to meet them. - Seem lacking in intelligence and likely to struggle with conversation on dates with men. - Are prone to being late, canceling at the last minute, or behaving poorly—in other words, seem unsuitable for allowance-based dating.