Feature: Perks of Japan's Sugar Daddies outweigh myth of "Womenomics"
Xinhua, June 4, 2015 Adjust font size:
Empowering women in the workplace, by seeing more women rise to the ranks of decision-makers and executives in their companies, as Prime Minister Shinzo's push to tap into one of Japan's largest underused economic resources - females.
The move dubbed "Womenomics," a play on the prime minister's " Abenomics" brand of economic reforms, was specifically aimed at attracting more women to join the workforce, keeping them there by smashing the nation's well-known glass ceiling for female employees and encouraging corporations to promote women into management and executive positions, as well as making better provisions for maternity leave and returning to work without the customary demotion.
While such moves may have shown embryonic signs of taking effect, according to the latest employment figures, the change has been negligible, with a recognizable demographic of Japan's society adamant that climbing the male-oriented economic ladder is not necessarily the only and easiest way to secure economic stability.
"It's happened to a bunch of my slightly older friends, they're either pressured into quitting the company themselves once they turn around 30-years-old, as the company assume they'll have to pay for maternity leave if the girl gets married and has a child, or they're surreptitiously demoted; perhaps doing a slightly different job, for the same money, but expected to work longer hours, or given a pay cut as part of 'broader restructuring efforts,'" Amaya Ikeda, 27, told Xinhua.
"Not once have I heard of one of my friends being promoted beyond the position they joined after university -- yes they've received incremental pay rises, but no promotions. And as for maternity leave, I know some foreign companies here have good plans, with daycare facilities and such like, but not in the world my friends and I move in," she said.
Ikeda is immaculately dressed in a navy pinstripe suit and white blouse, her skirt hovering coquettishly mid-thigh as she sat down at a road side cafe in Tokyo's snazzy Aoyama district. She's also wearing simple black Christian Louboutin pumps, carrying a Prada clutch and beneath Christian Dior aviators. Her makeup is immaculate, as is her hair; light brown with a slight curl, left to cascade over her shoulders to the small of her back.
At first glance, like those she's amassing from passersby, particularly males, one would be forgiven for mistaking her perhaps as a model, only that her height betrays her, along with the suit, or perhaps the owner of such an agency or a prominent casting or music agency, but the reality couldn't be further from the truth. By her own description she is an "Office Lady" a generic description used to describe female office workers, whose jobs don't necessitate a title and are often rather menial in nature.
"I sit at the front desk of what is perhaps Japan's most famous electronics maker and my job is to look pretty, greet customers and serve them tea once they've settled in with our sales or marketing staff. That's basically it. Yes, I went to university, a decent one, but after a year or so working at this company, I knew my options were limited and quickly realized I was hired for my looks," Ikeda said.
"The job doesn't pay badly, but it's hardly going to make me a millionaire. It's not too taxing, in fact it's rather boring. I have to drink so often with the male sales team, which is a bit of a bind, but that's part of the job apparently -- it's all endurable, but it's hardly the dream life, and it's not going to take me anywhere career-wise," said Ikeda. "If I wanted to make more money or climb the corporate ladder it would take a lot of effort on my part to get rehired, retrained and work like a friend. "
The young lady, who is the "rule and not the exception" for a generation of females in their 20s and 30s out there, has found what she believes is a happy medium between living the life to which she's become accustomed, as evidenced by her attire and accessories, this chic cafe she frequents, her penchant for luxurious holidays, and an apartment which has three rooms along with a living room, dining room and kitchen and is more than enough to accommodate her and her two Chihuahuas.
"Yes, I have a boyfriend and we've been together for a couple of years," she answers when quizzed on the topic. "But much as he' s a nice guy, he barely earns more than I do. I like him because he's funny and basically always there when I need him," Ikeda said.
"But it's my 'sponsor' who takes care of me financially. How else do you think I can afford all this stuff she says?" kicking up her heels to show the iconic red soles of her Louboutins. "On my salary there's no way I could go to Hawaii or Bora Bora twice a year, she said matter-of-factly. "If he wants to pay for me, who am I to say no?" she added nonchalantly.
Ikeda said she met her sponsor three years ago in a wine bar in Nishiazabu, another magnet for Tokyo's affluent crowd, on a night out with a girlfriend who suggested they go to that particular bar as "loads of rich old guys hang out there."
They got talking and he gave Ikeda his business card, which showed he was an executive at a really well-known trading company, which meant he was rich. He wasn't exactly good looking, as guys in their 60s have never really caught her eye until more recently, she remembered, but he was well-dressed and reasonably well- mannered.
"He made no secret of the fact that he was married and still wore his wedding ring. He said his relationship with his wife was a little dull, but they remained 'a good team for their family,'" said Ikeda, adding that at first she was a little shocked to hear that his youngest daughter was around about the same age as her.
"He also made no secret of the fact that he was interested in me sexually and after a brief exchange of emails in the following days we met up again, this time just the two of us and neither of us returned to our homes that night."
"I call him 'Papa' and he seems to like this. I think it reminds him of when he was younger and lived at home with his daughters. I'm pretty sure that's what they would have called him when they were younger. We meet once a week or a couple of times a month and have dinner at a fancy restaurant. He always picks me up and if I'm going home that night, he always makes sure I get home safely in a prepaid taxi. But of course there are nights when I don't go home, for obvious reasons," Ikeda said with her voice trailing off ever so slightly and loosing some of its former bravado.
When asked how she balances a regular boyfriend with a sponsor, or "Sugar Daddy" as would be the fitting international moniker, she paused, twiddled the clasp on the strap of her Cartier watch with her 400 U.S.-dollar manicured fingers and said, "It is what it is. I have to juggle, I have to lie because I don't want to give up what I have and I don't want to hurt anybody."
"Papa pays my entire rent. There's no way I could afford an apartment like that and it means my boyfriend can hang out there too, so that benefits him. In fact, for all the things I don't have to pay for, which is basically everything as Papa picks up the tab, I save a hell of a lot of money and pay more than my fair share of my boyfriend's stuff: meals, clothes and the odd vacation here and there," Ikeda said, apparently trying to convince herself as much as anyone.
Caffe lattes were drained and cakes finished as the purr of something powerful announced its arrival.
"There he is now," Ikeda said, busying herself with jackets, bags and tossing curls from her shoulders down her back so adeptly. "I'd better dash, we have reservations at Mizutani," she said, referring to one of Ginza's most expensive sushi restaurants. And with that she slid elegantly into the passenger seat of a black S- Class Mercedes Benz sedan, leaving only the smell of her Chloe perfume behind and, of course, the cheque to be paid. Endi