Are Japanese women losing their international appeal?
Writing in Shincho 45, Sayaka Kawase, a Southern California-based psychotherapist specializing in international romance and marriage, sets out to answer this question.
Kawase's own interest in this topic was kindled when an American man once remarked to her, "The notion that Japanese women are considered appealing is a myth spun off by the Japanese."
A strong statement indeed, considering he happened to be married to one.
But for Kawase, this remark really hit home. If this gentleman was correct in his assessment, she asks rhetorically, then what factors are responsible for causing Japanese women to fail at international romance?
Perhaps, Kawase suggests, it all boils down to an image problem, caused -- as is so often the case -- by the clash between popular myths and reality. She identifies four such myths that contribute to a stereotyped view: that Japanese women boast an "exotic" appearance; that they are elegant and refined; that they are inclined to devote themselves totally to their man; and that they are yasashii -- a word that encompasses such qualities as gentle, sweet, meek, tender and affectionate.