"Ashley Madison" big in Japan

[yanpa]

How Ashley Madison Pulled Back the Curtain on Japan’s 'Infidelity Economy'

Sex in Japan has made a splash in the media recently, this time via the explosion of Ashley Madison, the world’s largest “affair dating” website. Ashley Madison’s success in Japan has pulled back the curtain on the widespread adultery in the country, where the approach to marriage seems to accommodate infidelity.

According to Ashley Madison CEO Noel Biderman, the site’s success world-round is proof of a simple, if hard to accept, fact of humanity: “We’re not monogamous. We pretend to be. We pay lip service, but we’re not, and we have proof that we’re not. So let’s stop pretending,” Biderman told Motherboard.

Love or loathe him, Biderman knows what he’s talking about. A friendly former lawyer with quick answers, “the king of infidelity” dispenses facts on the widespread breakdown of traditional marriage with good cheer. To date, more than 25 million members across 38 countries have crafted profiles on Ashley Madison, complete with their age, physical traits, location, and a description of what they’re seeking. Men pay for credits to write emails, initiate chats, and send virtual gifts to women, while women join and navigate the site for free. The model is working; last year the company raked in a profit of $40 million, while reaping a revenue of $125 million, up from $100 million the previous year.

The popularity of the controversial matchmaking site is especially explosive in Japan, Ashley Madison’s fastest growing market worldwide. Japan broke one million members on the affair site faster than any other country: in just eight months.

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[matsuki]