Like many (most?) foreign press accounts on Japan, today’s coverage of the Tokyo Toy Show is no exception. The headlines below from the New Zealand Herald via Reuters and linked to from the Drudge Report fit right in to the perception of Japanese men as lonely nerds that would rather date miniature robots than flesh-n-blood women.
“Japan’s robot for lonely men“?
Sure, but only if you forget to note that the robot in question isn’t even Japanese and is only licensed by Sega Toys from WowWee with a different exterior.
For the record, WowWee is a Hong Kong-based company founded by Canadians.
This is just one more example of the foreign press seeing something on its surface, speculating like hell, and making Japan into something it isn’t. After all, would Reuters have ever called it “America’s robot for lonely men”? Of course not…American men aren’t THAT pathetic, right?
While these types of events are typically reserved for out-of-touch newspapers like the New York Times and their QR Code discoveries, it seems that the whole world is determined to turn Japan’s love of technology into some kind of delusional behavior (from the future, of course).
Speaking of the NYT, they’re STILL getting quoted in other media on this piece about “Media Immersion Pods”, a term that the author made up herself to describe what are, in fact, manga/internet cafes that have been around a long time already. Not quite the “new trend” she described, but who needs facts?
Sorry for the unusual post of bitterness, but if the foreign press wants to stop speculating and get some real information, we can only give them one suggestion.
Michael is the Editor of JapanTrends.com and Director of the 
I think that you will have to work very hard to change the world perceptions towards countries in the world.
It’s like the French will always be considered as good chefs and great lovers. I think that if someone choose to think for their own and not let the media think for him, he will find that Japan is fascinating in countless ways.
I agree with you that Japan needs to be judged on it’s merits and not the perception of others, and a genuinely in-depth story would have gotten to the meat of the matter, but to be honest, thanks to inventions like the butt-poker that came out a few years ago and shows like Chobits that feature relationships between men and robots, a headline like “Japan’s robot for lonely men” comes as so little a surprise that I (a dedicated Japan-o-phile) was not only not surprised, I bought the whole thing hook, line, and sinker.
no need to bitch mate, drudge report is shiite journalism, dont worry. Not surprised those new zealander’s would publish such shoddy journalism. Dont worry and remember they tease bcoz they dont have little girl robots themselves. Damn i want a one of those things real bad. Just not for like 1000 bucks.
I really disagree. Americans may remember a silicon toy named RealDoll and that the media was pretty hard on the perceived individuals who needed to purchase it. Foreign media was even harsher, IMO, doing news stories on the men who purchased them and treated them as real women.
Considering the amount of products created by Japanese firms for lonely otaku, the still existing popularity of places like host and hostess clubs and the release of the ikemen bank also at the toy show that tells women sweet nothings the idea that a Japanese firm would release a kissing robot for lonely men is not really that farfetched. As all countries in the world have lonely men and women and products geared towards them I think you’re taking the entire thing way out of context.
But isn’t it true that Sega people are being quoted? From
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUST8462420080617
“Strong, tough and battle-ready are some of the words often associated with robots, but we wanted to break that stereotype and provide a robot that’s sweet and interactive,” said Minako Sakanoue, a spokeswoman for the maker, Sega Toys.
“She’s very lovable and though she’s not a human, she can act like a real girlfriend.”
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If that doesn’t sound like marketing an ersatz gf, I don’t know what would. As for who looks silly, whatever. Maybe it’s Sega for thinking they can market that thing. But somehow I doubt it.