SBS wrote:Inside Japan's male-only 'ikumen' - or child-rearing courses.
[...]
Masaya Kurita, a 31-year-old bachelor living in Tokyo, cradles a plastic baby, gives it a gentle wash in a small basin, and places it back down on a neatly folded towel.
He has no partner and no baby on the way, but has opted into a male-only 'ikumen' - or child-rearing - course, hoping it will better his chances in finding a life-long partner.
"During the self-reflection part of the course I realised I had a tendency to hide my weaknesses or true feelings. I hope to be able to show my more vulnerable side after this," said Kurita, who has spent the past half year looking for a marriage partner through matchmaking agencies.
The course involves learning how to bathe and dress a baby, as well as how to - what the course organisers say - understand a woman's perspective on child-rearing through exercises such as wearing a seven kilogram pregnancy jacket, the company says.
Participants were also taught how to improve spousal communication, and were asked to fill out a worksheet stating traits women were deemed to dislike in men.
[...]
No better way than an "all male" course, if you're on the lookout for a wife
Similarities to the J-way of learning English are coincidental.
