If it’s hard to snag someone to settle down with, perhaps picking up some skills in childcare might up your game.
This is exactly what some single Japanese man are hoping to do in order to increase their chances of finding life partners.
One Osaka-based company called Ikumen University conducts all-male courses which teach men not only how to bathe and dress a baby, but also help them understand a woman’s perspective on child-rearing, reported The Japan Times.
Ikumen is a made-up word combining the Japanese word “ikuji” (meaning “child-rearing”) and the English word “men”, and usually refers to married men who take up active roles in child-rearing.
During these lessons, men also get to experience how it feels like to be pregnant by trying on 7kg pregnancy suits, known as “empathy bellies”.
Course instructor and Ikumen University president Mr Takeshi Akiyama told Ruptly: “Men must work. They work very hard (and) over-time, to bring food to the family,”
“And now we have fewer opportunities to meet singles, (and face) difficulties in marriage.”
He added in the Japan Times report that he wanted to create a form of certification to prove a man’s child-rearing skills and support for married life.
Japan has long suffered from declining birth rates, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledging to raise the country’s birth rate to 1.8 children per woman as part of this “three arrows” of economic stimulus.
One Ikumen University participant, Mr Hirose Masanor told Ruptly: “I joined the lessons for my future (for) when I have my own family. “It is good if things run smoothly in childcare.”
sujint@sph.com.sg
Photo GallerySingle Japanese turn to childcare lessons to snag life partners
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