The story below is originally published on Mainichi Daily News by Mainichi Shinbun (http://mdn.mainichi.jp). |
They admitted inventing its kinky features, or rather deliberately mistranslating them from the original gossip magazine. |
In fact, this is far from the general Japanese' behavior or sense of worth. |
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それでもフィリピーナにはまる男たち 1999,10,03
Japanese guys find loving Filipinas leads to heartbreak
Shincho 45,October By Mark Schreiber
How do I love thee? Let me count the drinks.
Perhaps the businessman,whom Shincho 45 refers to as "Nomura," should have kept better tabs on his bar bills.
After becoming infatuated with a hostess at a so-called "Filipino Club" in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district, he appeared, waif-like, each evening at opening and stayed until closing.
Every visit cost him some 60,000 yen. This routine went on for four straight months, until he exhausted most of his funds.
These outlays, incidentally, failed to result in physical consummation of their relationship, which captivated Nomura all the more. Her modesty, he marveled, surely stemmed from deep religious conviction.
Who could resist such a virtuous woman?
Finally, he surprised her with a diamond engagement ring.
After she accepted his gift, one of her co-workers finally took Nomura aside and whispered the bad news: "She's already got a Japanese husband."
An understandably angry Nomura demanded the return of his ring.
While Nomura might appear just another innocent victim of female guile,journalist Takeshi Yabe opines otherwise.
There seem to be lots of Japanese males with this goofy naivete that makes them willing patsies for such deception.
Why? At least partly, he suggests, it's from sympathy toward those who come from impoverished backgrounds.
But this misplaced attitude ignores the fact that millions of poor Filipinos manage to eke out survival by a combination of pluck and hard work.
And when not impeded by social and cultural barriers, they are capable of surprising economic vitality - as supported by data that show Filipino-Americans boast the highest average household income among all Americans of Asian descent.
Filipinos, moreover, are willing to make sacrifices - like the young woman named Rona who began working as a Roppongi hostess from age 20 and managed to put her four younger siblings through school.
Nomura and the many of his ilk, however, see themselves as knights in shining armor, whose mission is to rescue such women from poverty.
Coupled with a basic gap in their respective countries' economic levels, this creates a skewed perception, and what passes for affection may be no more than a consummately superficial relationship.
The men drawn to Filipinas often have no luck relating to Japanese women, who have become more economically and psychologically independent - and therefore no longer obedient and compliant.
"For some reason, men who feel inferior to Caucasian women and who don't get along with Japanese feel heroic around Filipinas," says a club manager, who adds that with their limited japanese-language ability, these women can only mouth the kind of sweet nothings customers like to hear.
"If you visit a bar four or five times and nothing happens, it means you're no more than a 'good customer' in her eyes," a knowledgeable businessman named Sato advises Shincho 45.
"My advice is to try out a different hostess,or just stay away from the club for a while and let things cool down."
In Sato's view, if the lady has really taken a liking to you, it won't matter whether you patronize her club or not.
Whether moved by love or more practical considerations, one thing that is certain is that more citizens of the Philippines are setting down roots in japan.
Although Filipinas in Japan on entertainment visas declined from about 53,000 in 1994 to 31,000 three years later, registered residents from the Philippines at the end of 1998 had soared to 89,645 - roughly triple the figure of 10 years ago.
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