YAKIMO
01-11-2006, 11:15 AM
New love confession service takes the pain out of breaking the ice
Shy Japanese who've long found it hard to tell the object of their desires how they feel now have a service that will do it for them at a cost, according to Spa! (10/31).
Political correctness also appears to have done its bit to make Onayami Kaiketsu Tanteidan's confession service a success as more fear the legal repercussions of approaching barely known women at a time when accusations of stalking are taken very seriously.
"About 70 percent of our customers are men in their 30s who've had serious feelings for a woman for a long time," Kimiko Yoshii, a consultant for the service, tells Spa! "We once had one guy who'd held these feelings for a woman inside himself for six years. He'd finally built up the guts to confess his love, but wanted us to check her out first just in case she rejected him."
Apparently, it's rare for a client to ask for their feelings to be passed on to somebody straight away (though Onayami Kaiketsu Tanteidan will also do that for a few thousand yen, considerably cheaper than the 100,000 yen-plus charge it levies for big jobs). Preparations are often necessary before somebody professes their love. That's where the service steps in.
"First we find the target, where she lives, what kind of guys she likes, that sort of stuff. If we approach her immediately, she'd probably be more shocked than anything else, so we pretend to be carrying out street interviews for market research and approach her that way, finding out her private details at the same time," Yoshii says, adding that if the target works in the service sector, it's not uncommon for the confession service's female staff to pretend to be customers and approach her that way. "Once she gets to know the service member's face, we can then introduce discussion about the client, saying things like how he had remarked on her being 'cute.' There's not a woman in the world who'd object to being cute. If mentioning that he fancies her comes up in the course of some girl talk, she's not likely to suspect anything."
Finally, the service will set up a time and place for the man to confess his love. To make sure he won't be disappointed, confession service staff research the type of things the target likes and thoroughly prepares the man for the moment of truth. Even after setting up a relationship, it doesn't mean the confession service staffer's job is over.
"It'd be a bit weird if somebody who's been claiming to be the client's friend suddenly disappeared out of his life soon after setting up an introduction with a new partner. The staff member will suddenly announce over the phone or by e-mail that she's got an impending marriage or move and ease out of the new couple's life that way," Yoshii tells Spa!
Though designed to take into account nearly every possibility, Onayami Kaiketsu Tanteidan also turns down plenty of clients.
"We got one guy asking us to set up a situation where it looked like somebody was after the woman he fancied and he would sweep in to save the day. We couldn't possibly allow any woman to get hurt, pretend or not, so we refused to take the job on," she says.
Confession services aren't the only jobs the company is willing to pull off for a price. It also provides alibis for love rats cheating on a partner.
"It looks like it's a tough time for love, now," the consultant tells Spa! "We expect demand for our services to continue skyrocketing."
Shy Japanese who've long found it hard to tell the object of their desires how they feel now have a service that will do it for them at a cost, according to Spa! (10/31).
Political correctness also appears to have done its bit to make Onayami Kaiketsu Tanteidan's confession service a success as more fear the legal repercussions of approaching barely known women at a time when accusations of stalking are taken very seriously.
"About 70 percent of our customers are men in their 30s who've had serious feelings for a woman for a long time," Kimiko Yoshii, a consultant for the service, tells Spa! "We once had one guy who'd held these feelings for a woman inside himself for six years. He'd finally built up the guts to confess his love, but wanted us to check her out first just in case she rejected him."
Apparently, it's rare for a client to ask for their feelings to be passed on to somebody straight away (though Onayami Kaiketsu Tanteidan will also do that for a few thousand yen, considerably cheaper than the 100,000 yen-plus charge it levies for big jobs). Preparations are often necessary before somebody professes their love. That's where the service steps in.
"First we find the target, where she lives, what kind of guys she likes, that sort of stuff. If we approach her immediately, she'd probably be more shocked than anything else, so we pretend to be carrying out street interviews for market research and approach her that way, finding out her private details at the same time," Yoshii says, adding that if the target works in the service sector, it's not uncommon for the confession service's female staff to pretend to be customers and approach her that way. "Once she gets to know the service member's face, we can then introduce discussion about the client, saying things like how he had remarked on her being 'cute.' There's not a woman in the world who'd object to being cute. If mentioning that he fancies her comes up in the course of some girl talk, she's not likely to suspect anything."
Finally, the service will set up a time and place for the man to confess his love. To make sure he won't be disappointed, confession service staff research the type of things the target likes and thoroughly prepares the man for the moment of truth. Even after setting up a relationship, it doesn't mean the confession service staffer's job is over.
"It'd be a bit weird if somebody who's been claiming to be the client's friend suddenly disappeared out of his life soon after setting up an introduction with a new partner. The staff member will suddenly announce over the phone or by e-mail that she's got an impending marriage or move and ease out of the new couple's life that way," Yoshii tells Spa!
Though designed to take into account nearly every possibility, Onayami Kaiketsu Tanteidan also turns down plenty of clients.
"We got one guy asking us to set up a situation where it looked like somebody was after the woman he fancied and he would sweep in to save the day. We couldn't possibly allow any woman to get hurt, pretend or not, so we refused to take the job on," she says.
Confession services aren't the only jobs the company is willing to pull off for a price. It also provides alibis for love rats cheating on a partner.
"It looks like it's a tough time for love, now," the consultant tells Spa! "We expect demand for our services to continue skyrocketing."