In Japan, women are traditionally subservient to men and — like children in the West — have long been schooled to be "seen and not heard." But in matters of the heart and homemaking, and in these times of increasing sexual equality, Japan's females — who were formerly hunted romantically — are increasingly doing the hunting themselves.
For the proof of this pudding, I went one recent evening to a meeting room in Tokyo's central Shinjuku district where a company named Exeo Japan had arranged chairs and small tables for 30 men and 30 women in two lines facing each other. By the time I turned up, most of the participants had already arrived, and a tense air of expectation filled the air as they eyed each other up.
In fact, the atmosphere and the prevailing silence reminded me of a job interview, and actually that wasn't far from the reality. Except, of course, that this event was an omiai pati (coupling party), and the potential "jobs" were as husbands or wives.