Two Day Magazine

Are you in search of Mr. or Mrs. Right and have 200,000 yen? (That’s $2,217). Then, I have a school for you!

Dozens of Japanese are in Tokyo are turning to Infini School to help them land a mate. The school offers lots of different classes for singles looking to mingle, or those who are finding it difficult to meet their match.

The school is open to men and women, and teaches several different life skills, including how to walk, talk, and appear elegant in an attempt to make themselves more appealing to prospective life partners and their parents, which are often a major impediment to a happy union.

Infini opened only a month ago and already has enrolled 30 female students. About the same number of males have signed up as well, but not nearly as many show up to class as their female counterparts.

Women in Japan are commanding more and more economic clout, and because of this, the attitude towards marriage had begun to wane over the past decade or so. Japanese women in their 20s and 30s are single now more than ever in the country’s history.

www.reuters.com reports that nearly two-thirds of women under the age of 34 in Japan are unmarried, in spite of over 3,800 Japanese matchmaking services being offered.

“Before, people would find it easy to get married because families and society would connect them in some way, sometimes pushing them to get married. But, nowadays, people have too many choices and cannot seem to make up their minds.” said Etsuko Satake, principal of the Infini marriage school.

So, what actually takes place at the school? The teachers (how do you get to be a teacher of marriage?) give constructive criticism about the way students are dressed, the way they stand, and even how they get out of a car or cross their legs. They discuss how to impress future in-laws, as well, including how to properly set a table. Men are taught different skills, such as how to be more emotive with their partner.

“I had never even thought that my boyfriend’s mother could play such a big role in my relationship, but now I’ve realized I need to start thinking seriously about how to impress my future in-laws, explains Kozue Sugawara, 29, who decided to attend Infini after her marriage plans fell through.

The students get graded on “simulated dates” where they interact with other students and they get performance points, as well as critiques on what they could have done better.

Many experts in Japan believe this return to marriage has a lot to do with the fact that Japan’s economy has tanked and fallen into a deep recession (we know a thing or two about that on this side of the world) and so many people, especially the ladies, are looking to marriage once again as a way to bring some economic stability back into their lives.

One woman, named Mei Oda, 32,  who is an office contract worker, has made it very clear what she hopes to gain from Infini. “I’m looking for a man who makes more than 10 million yen a year ($110,000), doesn’t ask me to live with his parents, and takes good care of me.”

Honey, isn’t that what we all want? Ha!

But seriously, I think this marriage school is a good idea. Americans could definitely benefit from some relationship training, themselves, as well! As the number of divorces continue to climb in this country, I wonder how long it will be until the U.S starts taking its cues from the far East. I mean, we import everything else from them, why not the marriage school, too? Learning life skills, learning how to communicate with your partner, learning how to please in-laws...aren’t these all things that everyone in a relationship could stand to know a little more about?

What do you think? Is a marriage school really the answer to create a better union amongst people? Wouldn’t it be funny if someday, when you meet a partner, you have to show them your “Infini Certificate of Completion” that states that you won’t suck as a life partner? What if your potential mate looks at it, and goes, “Oh, you only got a C in table setting? I don’t think this is going to work...” It could happen, right?