Opinion Boys, be ambitious By Caroline Pover	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
恥ずかしがり屋の日本人男性へ 日本人男性は、興味を持っている外国人女性に、 ｢興味がある」というシグナルを送れずにいる。 日本人男性には、長身で筋肉りゅうりゅうの 男っぽいタイプの人は少ないが、 かえってそこに魅力を覚える女性もいるのだ。 恥ずかしがらずにアプローチすることを お勧めしたい…。

In an international city like Tokyo, we often hear stories about Japanese women dating foreign men, but we rarely hear about foreign women dating Japanese men.

Until now!

The problem seems to be that Japanese men are not very good at giving off signals to the foreign women they are interested in.

If they are giving off signals, they are quite different from the signals that foreign men give us in our home countries.

In many cases, foreign women find themselves in a position where they are not sure whether a Japanese man likes her or not.

I think Japanese men can learn a lot from Japanese women, who, unlike Japanese men, seem to be very good at showing men that they are interested in them!

Many Japanese men are very surprised to hear that foreign women might be interested in dating them.

The media in countries all over the world usually show attractive men to be big, muscular, and very "masculine," and most Japanese men really aren't like that.

What Japanese men don't know is that less muscular men can be just as attractive to some foreign women - if not more so - as these muscular men we see in the media, and that many women like men with a less aggressive manner.

I am sure that Japanese men would be very surprised to know the true thoughts and feelings of many foreign women.

I think that many Japanese men feel a little bit intimidated by foreign women, and this too can be put down to the way the media portray them.

In a lot of Western movies, the female characters often have very strong personalities - independent, confident, and with strong opinions.

These images can be rather scary to men from cultures where the women don't usually appear like that!

So it isn't surprising that Japanese men aren't really sure how to show their feelings if they are interested in foreign women.

Curiously, many people also assume that Japanese men are not interested in dating foreign women.

But many Japanese men, especially those who have lived overseas, find foreign women very attractive.

I find that more young Japanese people are rejecting the idea of a traditional marriage, and are looking for different kinds of relationships, which is why many men and women want to date people from other cultures.

If one day you want to live in another country or experience another culture, then it would be quite natural for you to seek out a partner who comes from another country.

So, my advice to Japanese men is not to be shy, because the foreign woman you are interested in might just be waiting to know if you are interested in her!

And if you need some help along the way, feel free to contact me at caroline@go-girls.jp for more information. Good luck in your search for love and friendship!

Shukan ST: March 26, 2004

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